How To Get Back On Track

When naming this article and episode, I tried Catawampus – as in, “when it all goes catawampus”, but my SEO score on my blog did not think that was a good idea. Noted.

I was a guest on the EP podcast episode that dropped last Tuesday, March 12.

We recorded on Monday, March 11th because that is the day I record my episode, too. And I was a guest on the EP Podcast because Chris, my producer, had a family emergency over the weekend with his 18 year old daughter. And she’s fine. Healing well.

And everybody’s fine in my house too. Everybody’s okay. We’ll start with that.

But we talked through, first of all, the situation and that it was crazy for them, I know. And then the question he asked me was, “After the fact, what do you do to pick up the pieces?” You’ve been through this dramatic and potentially traumatic situation and what do you do to get back on track?

In his situation, he has children other than the post-surgical one to take care of. He needs to take care of his daughter while she recovers. Anything he had planned for that day and also for the days to follow obviously just went out the window because, well, that’s what the situation required.

We’re going to do it because it needs done and we’re going to do it because our kids win and because we love them. And guys, I really do love you. So if you’re listening – well, I don’t think my kids listen to my podcast, but some of their friends do. And then we pick up the pieces and get back to normal, get back to work.

Here’s the twist. We recorded at noon on Monday because we usually record at noon on Mondays. We have systems for these things and everything else. I’m still like a week behind. I’d like to get back on track with that personally. That is a leftover from my recent surgery.

My college age son was home for his Spring Break and there was an incident and he lost consciousness in the kitchen. I’ll leave it at that. It was scary. He ended up going to the ER in an ambulance. So, a shout out to the Evergreen Park Fire Department, the EMTs when we called 911 were awesome and competent and kind. They took care of business, they took care of my son, they loaded him up and we went to the hospital.

One thing Chris mentioned on his episode was that his 18 year old was still eligible for the pediatric ER, and if you have to choose, the pediatric ER is a better place for a young person than the regular ER. And I found it surreal that, within 8 hours of having that conversation with him, I found myself in the front seat of an ambulance while they unloaded my 19 year old in the ambulance bay next to the door labeled Pediatric ER at Christ Hospital.

Never, in no imagination of my day could I have foreseen that I would be confirming that information from him within 8 hours of recording that episode. But there we were. And to repeat, he’s fine. My son’s fine. And I have his permission to write about and talk about this. He’s ok.

Let me make the rest of this very long story short. We were there for 24 more hours. We arrived around 7:30 pm Monday. They ran tests and started the admission process at 11 pm. He was finally discharged from the ER at 08:00 pm on Tuesday night, they had not yet found him a bed in 24 hours

When you’re in the ER, you gain perspective. Obviously, other people were having a much worse time of life than we were. My son’s ok.

Simple things. My son was in the ER but he had a room with doors. A lot of people didn’t. He didn’t have a bathroom or a shower, and I didn’t sleep at all because the room is not set up with a chair for a non-patient to sleep in. I never pulled an all-nighter in college, that didn’t happen until I was a parent!

We had family and friends texting and checking in on us, with offers of support and assistance if we needed anything. I am so grateful. And I’m grateful for Greg, my husband, so that we could tag team and I could go home for a few hours of sleep when he came back first thing Tuesday morning because we didn’t want to miss any of the doctors in consultation, etc.

But as Chris mentioned, once the dust settles, right, after all this happens, then what? When you look around your house and you realize that all of the routines that you normally have that support your life were completely abandoned, for a few days. Where do you start? Where?

I’ve talked about emergencies recently. I had a recent surgery as well. Five weeks ago I had surgery on my nose. It was planned. It was February 13, but I had known about it since the end of November. It wasn’t news. It ended up being more complex, more invasive, and I had a lot more downtime and a lot more healing that I needed to do. That was news, but the schedule was already cleared, I had no expectations of myself already. It wasn’t an emergency, it was a hassle. I won’t say it was fun. I’m still not done healing. I still have swelling and follow up appointments. It’s not don, but for the most part, I’m good to go.

But trips to the ER, for your daughter and her appendix, for my son in the ER for 24 hours and a lot of diagnostics to determine what’s going on and what to follow up on. Those are emergencies. They both have had good outcomes so far. I know it could be worse. Oh, my God, do I know it could be worse.

Once the emergency has passed, now what? What do we do to get back on track?

I came home at 830 Tuesday morning after tagging my husband out at the hospital, having not slept for 27 hours. I set up my phone and apple watch to charge, took a shower, brushed my teeth, had a really big glass of water and slept for 2 hours. Then I got up and I made sure things were taken care of, sent a few emails, took a shower, got dressed, grabbed a protein shake for the road and headed back up to the hospital.

On Tuesday night, when we were finally discharged, we asked the question again.

First things first: We’re headed home, do we need to eat? We can pick up something on the way.
All right, I’m going to drop you guys off, and go to the pharmacy for my son’s prescriptions.

Anything we need grocery wise? No? Okay. We just had people over, so we have a full fridge of food.

Everybody was comfortable and happy.

Next, Laundry. Unpack the bag from the hospital Yes, let’s start a load of laundry.

Next, let’s make sure maintenance has been occurring. Load the dishwasher, bring in the mail, make sure that there’s no packages out front.

None of this new. I think that was the point that I made when I talked to with Chris on his podcast. We don’t do new stuff. We take a minute and remember what our routines are. And routines are there to help us make sure that our needs are being consistently met. That’s what routines do for us. And so first things first, we’re to check in on the needs. Needs are food, clothing, shelter, safety, warmth. Right? Basic bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Check in on those, make sure that all of those are functioning. Food, clothing, shelter, safety, warmth. Once we take care of those needs, then we can move up the list.

Now, when we got home from the hospital, finally, it was after 08:00 on Tuesday night after very little sleep. At that point, another need, very rapidly was becoming sleep. I could have tried to do more, but it wouldn’t have worked. Sleep is also a need, and that was the answer. Meeting needs consistently so that everybody can continue to function in survival. I’d love to get into optimal thriving mode. But first things first is survival. Food, clothing, shelter, safety, warmth, right? I mean, that’s where we got to start.

So, when in doubt, that’s where we spend our first hours of attention, is making sure that those needs are met for the moment. In the moment. Then, how to continue to meet those needs for the next couple of hours and then days. We start with needs, we start small, we start with what is right in front of us. We don’t need to do the big stuff right now.

So to recap: First things first. Having routines, very helpful routines, helped me to grab what I needed to grab, throw it all in my backpack (which is my purse) that is always sitting in the same place and run out the door with the ambulance people. Anybody I need to contact was already programmed in my phone. All of my apps are up to date. Everything is up to date. My wallet has our insurance card and has all of John’s information, all of my son’s information.

There are things that maintenance, that routines absolutely provided. My son is otherwise in good health. I’m in good health. Maintaining good health eliminates helped rule out some potential problems because he’s in otherwise good health.

When emergencies happen, that’s it. That is where you need to be. Everything else needed to fall away. With my son is the only place I need to be. The rest of life will all be waiting for me when I get back, for better or for worse.

But that’s the answer. So we create routines because in the heat of it, in the heart of it, in crazy times, we need to have those structures in place to keep things going. So we have habits around needs, so those needs continue to be consistently met. And to give us the habits, the reminders of how to get back to some semblance of normal when our days haven’t necessarily looked normal.

Start with needs. Start with what is right in front of you. Don’t create something new, but get back to your routines. And that, my friends, is how to get back on track.

Meal Planning: Start With What You Know

Last week, we got started on Meal Planning by asking two questions: What does healthy mean to you? And, What are your meal planning goals?

I hope you have had some time to think about your answers to those questions! With answering those questions, you have gained some awareness for and about yourself. Awareness is the first step for progress!

I know Meal Planning may sound like a lot of change and a lot of work, but it is easier than you think, especially to get started. I am not here to tell you what and how and when to eat. Those are personal choices. What I am here to say is that meal planning can help support your intentions and achieve your goals, whatever they may be.

So, as we get started with the HOW-TO for meal planning, let me suggest starting with what you know.

So, what do you know? 😉 Let me tell you, You know more than you think you do!

First, you know you.

You know what healthy means to you, and you know your goals.

You know your preferences, your allergies, your schedule, your finances, and your family situation and who else you need to factor into your meal plans.

Let’s get to it. Starting with what you know, Make a list of your favorites.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes coming up with ideas for what we want to eat is the hardest part of meal planning for me. It’s not checking inventory, or grocery shopping or even cooking – the IDEAS are what stump me. To circumvent that trouble, I have a list on the inside of my cabinet door of 30 of my family’s favorite meals.

What are your favorite meals, or your family’s favorite meals? Favorite doesn’t have to mean complicated, it just means meals I know we will eat. Items included on this list for us are:

  • chicken pie
  • chicken enchiladas
  • chicken soup, with noodles or with rice
  • chicken breasts
  • tacos, ground beef or chicken
  • pork roast
  • pork chops
  • smoked sausage gumbo (crock pot)
  • andouille sausage and grits
  • kielbasa and pierogi
  • BLTs
  • ham and sweet potatoes
  • beef stew
  • meatloaf
  • chili (crock pot)
  • burgers (summer)
  • pot roast
  • fish, shrimp
  • stuffed pepper casserole
  • egg roll in a bowl
  • breakfast for dinner, etc.

Right there, for us, are more than 20 ideas. Now consider that these days I make a big batch of two or three meals once a week and then reheat them, with veggies or a salad. With 20 ideas, that is 6-7 weeks of planning, if I wanted new ideas every week. And, I have to say, knowing that I have ideas for more than a month feels pretty great!

If you want to use meal planning to make changes and therefore are looking at new or different recipes, the same strategies hold true. Start with a list of recipes you would like to try, or foods that you want to incorporate into your plan. Try a new idea or a new food every week, and once you find winners, add them to your Favorites list!

The next two “Start with what you know” steps are related! We look at the schedule, we look at the inventory, we look back at the schedule and match things up, etc.

Take an inventory of what food you already own.

What is in the fridge, the freezer and the cabinets?

For example, on Saturday morning, I was getting ready to batch cook that evening for a few days. So I checked the freezer for what proteins we have on hand, and planned accordingly (chicken enchiladas and some lovely frozen, fully cooked lemon chicken).

The great thing about having a list of favorite meals and recipes is that I tend to have the ingredients for the items we eat the most often already on hand. So, the chicken enchiladas used homemade enchilada sauce, diced chicken, canned green chiles, canned black beans (I used red kidney because that is what was in the cabinet), tortillas and shredded cheddar cheese. All of which I had on hand.

I need to do more batch cooking later this week, and as I planned my batches for Saturday looked ahead at what else we might want to eat coming up, and added those items to my grocery list.

A suggestion that I will plant here is that, as you start this process for yourself, now would be a great time to Pantry Shop! What that means is to review your foods, checking for expiration dates and making sure everything is safe, and then incorporate what you have on hand into your meal plan for the next week or two. It’s a great way to clear clutter in the cabinets and also save some money by not grocery shopping this week!

Once we know what we have, take a look at your schedule for the next 7 days.

Consider, too, if you need to plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, or just 2 meals or even just one. When my sons were little, we meal planned for dinner. Breakfast and lunch were easy and basic, but dinner was a little more complicated.

Now that I cook typically for just my husband and myself, our needs have changed. I still don’t plan for breakfast, but I factor in extra left overs because we tend to eat lunch at home more often with remote work. A friend who homeschools her children plans for all three meals every day because that makes her week flow more smoothly. Perhaps you don’t need that much detail. Your choice.

Also, when looking at the schedule, note days that either don’t need a meal, or perhaps need a special one. For example, my college student comes home on Friday for his Spring Break, so I’m guessing there will be pizza from our favorite local pizza place Rosangela’s for dinner, no need to cook that night!

So, before you say – No Way, Colleen, meal planning is way too much work! Or, before you decide you have to make HUGE Changes, which by the way are really difficult to implement and maintain, let’s start with what we know. We know ourselves, we know our favorites, we know our inventory and we know our schedule! Start with what is in front of you. Just start!

The Importance of “Filling Your Cup”

When I started writing this content today, I had just listened to my amazing friend, Sara Goggin Young with Power to Believe. She really is extraordinary, you need to check her out on the social media platforms!  She hosts this really cool thing every Tuesday morning called Vibe High.

I listen as I take my morning walk, and she is just so motivating.

Her topic this week was “filling our cup”. Filling our cup.  As in, how do we support ourselves? How do we fill our cup, metaphorically speaking?

Time is weird. I record my podcast a week ahead. I record an episode on Monday, and then the next morning, Tuesday morning, the episode I recorded the week before drops.  Last week, I talked about ADHD and I have loved hearing from some of you about how that article and episode impacted you.  And thank you.

And this week’s topic is Arriving on time, in five minute increments.

I have been talking about habits around leaving, and also habits around arriving home and then also around habits of packing our bag the day before and things like that.

We can absolutely conquer our transitions in little bits of time. And we should. We don’t not have to make big, huge grand gestures to make a difference. Honestly, it’s better if they aren’t huge grand gestures.

We are much better off with small, consistent, intentional, positive effort.

And all of these thoughts and recent client conversations got me thinking about this habit that I have, this brief and impactful habit that I have that I might not have talked about before.

I find it very helpful and I thought I would share.  It helps me manage my transitions – and getting good at managing transitions makes everything better! – and it definitely helps me “fill my cup”. It helps me support me being my best self.

Here goes – There is a post-it note that I stare at when I sit down at my desk, which I do all the time.  The sitting down at my desk part.

And the title says “Homing.

Did you know, I’m a liturgical musician in addition to being a certified professional organizer and organizational coach. And there’s a song we sing called “Lord of All Hopefulness”. It’s a prayer that you would sing throughout the day. There are 4 verses to the song, ‘be there at our waking’, ‘be there at our labors’, ‘be there at our homing’ and ‘be there at our sleeping’.

And “homing” refers to the time when we arrive home. For me, that’s a very comforting image.  Our coming home at the end of the day after our work is done. The word to me means completion and satisfaction. I did the work, I helped the people, and I’m home now and can rest, relax and reset.

And what is on the Homing Post It Note? It’s a list, in order

  • water
  • playlist
  • snack / meal?
  • nature break
  • shower?
  • change clothes?
  • next event?
  • transition bags and stuff
  • bookkeeping
  • curtains, lights and mail (which are all the same step.)

Those are the things that I need to do when I get home, to take care of me, to ease my transition, to fill my cup after a busy day and or before a busy evening.

I can do these arriving home tasks any time of the day, and even all together they take 25 minutes tops.

This Homing List has a special place because I need to remind myself to start with self care, self management, self regulation first.

Let’s break it down: 

Water: I’m almost always dehydrated.  Here’s a clue – we all are.   I have a hard time staying as on top of my water consumption as I should. So the first thing I do when I get home is have a glass of water because I need one.

Playlist: I love music, and the right playlist can relax or entertain or energize me. I have playlists from bands we follow or have become friends of ours, and those make me happy.  I love to listen to Motown while I cook – I don’t know why! But it makes me happy, too.

Snack  / Meal:  Seems self explanatory, but I often need a snack when I get home.  And if I don’t remember to ask the question, it could be a little bit of time before I wonder my energy is lagging, my focus is drifting, my blood sugar has bottomed out and now I am hangry (yes, that is a thing!).  Or, maybe I get home around dinner time and I need to make dinner!

Nature break: Again, this seems obvious, I know.  I shouldn’t need a post-it note to remind me to use the washroom, but sometimes I do.

Next, do I need a shower? Some days I get grubby at work, but this really revved up during pandemic.  During pandemic times, I would only see one client a day and then shower immediately when I got home to keep my family safe. I’m not quite as fanatical about that anymore, but, some days it still needs to happen or I need to shower before my next appointment or event. 

And I almost always need to change my clothes into comfy clothes. Same idea, I don’t really wear outdoor clothes in my house and vice versa.

Next, ask “What is my next event?” This loops back to what I mentioned last week and in the past few months about getting our stuff and self ready to go. As soon as I come home from one thing, is it unpacking from the current day or packing for the next day? So, when I ask the question: next event? I’m answering the question and then:

Transitioning my bags and stuff. I mean, I’ve talked about that recently, with my many-bag-days and making sure that unpacking and putting everything away happens regularly. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure I would be inundated all over my desk or my office floor with bags. Yikes!

Next up is Bookkeeping. And bookkeeping is not necessarily something that everybody needs to do, but I, as a business owner, do need to do it. I have clients who pay me using all sorts of methods and often when I get home, I need to send a PayPal invoice or a Venmo request, or perhaps I need to follow up on scheduling. This also provides an opportunity to file any paperwork that I accumulated throughout the day, put away any receipts, make note on hours that I work today and account for them, etc. This doesn’t take long but it is a very important part of my process.

The final step is “curtains, lights and mail” and that is contingent on the time of day when I arrive home and the season and all that stuff. Sometimes I get home mid-day. And sometimes I arrive early evening and it’s time for me to close the curtains for the night, turn on the lights in my home to make it warm and friendly, and bring in the mail. When I say that out loud, it feels very cozy and inviting. It makes me feel like I’m having a hug, and looping back, that helps fill my cup.

The process itself absolutely fills my cup, gives me a boost and brings my thoughts back to home and family and the things that I find important.

My challenge to you would be to figure out what these steps are for yourself, and how to fill your cup. And how can you make sure it happens on a consistent basis? My example was about habits around coming home.  Maybe you need to head outside to fill your cup, or go exercise or go meet up with friends or go to a class. On the call with my friend and her group, some people loved to cook or be creative with their hands. What is it for you?

And how do you make sure to do it regularly? For example, having this visual reminder for me absolutely helps me to “fill my cup” consistently. Let me know your thoughts!

Back To School: First Things First – Clothes!

These next few weeks are about action and Taking Care of Business for a lot of parents, myself included.  So I am keeping these next few posts simple.

Do-able.

Positive.

Pared down and drama-free.

Just like back-to-school time should be!

So let’s do this!

First things first, friends. Clothes.  Reviewing the current, and shopping for the new.

  1. Before tackling the clothes / closet review, do all the laundry and put it all away. Yes.  All of it.  Away.  And if you say – “All of it?  THERE’S TOO MUCH!”, then that’s an indicator that this project can reap big benefits for you!  And if you say “AWAY?  We don’t have an AWAY for all the clothes!” then that, too, indicates that this project is extremely overdue.
  2. Next, clear a couple hours on the schedule, for you and your children (each child individually).  Make sure you’re both rested and fed.  Don’t start this at 10 pm, or right before lunch.  Turn on some fun music, grab a pad of paper to write down items to purchase, and get at it.
  3. Make the bed, and then cover it with a clean white sheet – it can be great work space for sorting.
  4. Pick a starting spot, and begin.  DO NOT TAKE OUT EVERYTHING AT ONCE!  Tackle a dresser drawer or a single closet shelf at a time.   Better yet, address a single category of clothes at a time.  All the shorts or pants or skirts or shirts, etc.  Do not try to tackle everything at once!
  5. As you work through the clothes, purge items that are: too big, too small, old or beyond repair, off-season, etc.  Label and store the off-season and too-big items, and donate, sell or hand down the too-small or too-old items.
  6. Do an initial quick review, and purge everything that YOU KNOW fits into the above descriptions  (items that are too small, too stained, too icky, etc.).
  7. Now, have your kids try everything else on.  Yes, everything.  Use the criteria listed above when you review the clothes.
  8. I have teenagers, so I also need an “I’ll never actually wear this” pile.  I find this frustrating, but since my sons aren’t overly picky or materialistic, I respect their choices.  I have also declared that I will never buy clothes for my sons without them with me again.  I don’t want to waste the time or money of buying clothes they won’t wear.
  9. Make a list of items that your kids need for the school year and new season.  (If you need a suggested list, http://peaceofmindpo.com/2010/08/05/that-age-old-ritual-back-to-school-clothes-shopping/ ).  I went through my own closet, too, and got rid of an old and tattered pair of pants and dressy skirt, among other things.  I won’t wear them again, but I will need to replace them so I added those items to my personal shopping list.
  10. Put away the clothes you are keeping (for more ideas, check my past blog articles), and deliver the purged items to their destination.  And then go do something fun!

You CAN do this!  And enlisting your child in the process teaches them organizational skills they can use for life.

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

It’s feeling like summer.  My older sons are out until August, and the youngest is counting the hours until Friday noon.

I don’t know if this happens in every house (probably not), but when the kids get out of school and the weather turns warm, my thoughts turn to…. Projects!  (I know, I may be crazy).  Of course, my thoughts also turn to summer travels and relaxing with friends and family, but summer is a great time to make progress on projects.

Wait – What? I’m Supposed to Have Summer Organizing Projects?

Yes, you are.  Why?

The days are longer.  It’s warmer in the garage / attic / basement, if that’s where the projects are.  Our energy is higher. There may be extra people (read kids) around to help. So here is how:

  • Grab a clipboard.  Yes, a clipboard.  Seriously – don’t you feel more confident and in charge when you carry a clipboard? Julie McCoy, Cruise Director always knew what was going on, right?  (I just totally dated myself, but so be it).  Grab the clipboard with some paper and pen.
  • Walk around every room of your house with your clipboard, and then outside, too.
  • Look at every room as though it’s the first time.  Walk with someone, and explain the space to them. Saying things out loud can help us process our ideas.  Jot down thoughts.
    • First, appreciate the positive aspects.  (“I really love that couch.  I love the way the light fills this space. I still love this paint color, etc.”)
    • Now consider what you might like to change about the space.  Be realistic, but dream big.  Making changes can breathe new life into our spaces.  I love my great room, but rearranging the furniture the other day made me love it even more.
    • Now consider what organizing projects could help your spaces:
      • De-clutter?  Always a good step.
      • De-furnish?  I walk into so many rooms that have way too much furniture.
      • A good cleaning?  A very simple solution.
      • Invest in an organizing solution?  Perhaps your space could use new book shelves, a better closet system, or under-bed storage for off season clothes or bedding?
      • Be specific.  Don’t just write “organize bedroom” on your list.  Try – “clean out dresser drawers”, “purge old shoes”, “clean out under bed”, “hang new art work”, etc.
  • When you’re done, you may have a lengthy list.  Don’t get overwhelmed, you only need to tackle a few!
  • Looking at your list, determine what projects your family can complete over the next few months. Why?
    • Decision makers.  I live with 4 other people.  If I want to make an organizational change, I ask opinions from the other people who live here, out of respect.  This is easier in the summer, when my family is home more.  Kids may be home from college, and spouses may have a free day here and there.
    • Extra hands.  For example, we have A LOT of books in our house – the bookshelves have gotten full. This past weekend, each son went through his bookshelves.  Three bags of books are ready to donate to our local library, plus three bags of garbage left, too!
  • Pick just one room to start, and just one project. For example, “Family Room: Organize DVD collection”.
  • Now list the steps, and who can help.  The steps may include
    • “collect  cases and loose DVDs, put them together” (20 minutes, son #3),
    • “alphabetize the DVDs” (5 minutes, son #3), and
    • “review and purge unneeded DVDs for sale or donation” (20 minutes, everyone).
  • I find projects are more manageable, for me and my sons, when broken into smaller pieces.

So, what’s it going to be this summer?  Getting that garage ready for next winter?  Finally clearing out the attic, to get ready for selling the house next year?  Maybe just tidying up all the closets?  Tackle those projects!  Walk around, write them down, break them up, and share the load!  Then hit the beach or the trail! Enjoy!

Dealing with Re-Entry: Managing a Tired Brain

Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes I struggle with what I call Re-Entry.

Travel Luggage Chest Clipart

We are very lucky that we get to travel often to visit with family out of state. And I’ve gotten really good at the getting-ready-and-packing / coming-home-and-unpacking process over the years. But with this weekend marking the unofficial start of summer, I’m out of practice, it seems, as my brain was total mush when we got home today.

So, my first hour home was spent reminding myself how to manage Re-Entry, after a weekend away. Here’s what works for us, maybe it will work for you, too!  First things first (30 minutes):

  • (5 minutes) Unload dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. (We carry a dirty laundry bag when we travel, to facilitate that first load of laundry when we get home and also to keep any left-over clothes we’ve packed smelling fresh.)
  • (1 min) Drink a really big glass of cold water. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to arrive home from trips slightly dehydrated.
  • (5 – 10 minutes) Unload the car all the way. Yes, ALL THE WAY.
  • (10 minutes) Put away perishable food from the cooler, grab a snack or start dinner (or lunch or breakfast, depending on the clock).  Like the commercial says, You aren’t you when you’re hungry. I find it easier to manage the unloading / unpacking / putting away tasks when I’m not also famished.
  • (5 minutes) Check the snail mail box, and any voice mail messages.

The next 45-60 minutes:

  • (5 minutes) Clean up from your snack / meal.
  • (10-20 minutes) Unpack your suitcases / bags, put away clean, un-worn clothes, shoes and toiletries. Yes, AWAY.
  • (5 minutes) Put the bags / suitcases away. Yes, AWAY!
  • (10 minutes) Depending on how you manage your tech, check your emails and such, but just for emergencies.  This is not time to get work done, just to make sure there’s nothing that needs your immediate attention.
  • (10 minutes) Move that laundry through the process. I didn’t have time for cleaning on Friday, before we left town. So this afternoon, I had a mound of clean but unfolded laundry to tackle before I could move today’s laundry along.
  • Head to the grocery? That’s where I’m headed. I am loathe to get back in my car, but we need some staples for the work and school week ahead, so I’m off.
  • If you’ve been on a long road-trip, or if there was a beach involved, stop off at a car wash and give your car a wash and your rugs a vacuum.

So, there you go.  If you struggle with that first hour at home after a weekend trip, keep this list in mind. And if you happen to have helpers with the unpacking process, this list will help you delegate tasks!

Happy and Safe Travels!

7 Solutions to Get My (and Your?) Morning Back on Track

This is not the blog I planned to publish this week.
But as I drove home from a very early morning client, I considered what I need to focus on today to make tomorrow morning run more smoothly.  We have simple and wonderful systems in place.  Our mornings typically work really well, and all 5 of us know our parts and make the essential stuff happen.
However….. This week…  we could improve.  Let’s just leave it at that.
So here is part of my plan for today.  Maybe one of these solutions will resonate with you, too?  If your morning is a scramble, give them try!
Solution #1: Put ALL the laundry away.
There was a scramble for pants this morning.  Sounds funny when I spell it out. Other days, we scramble for clean socks or a favorite hoodie, but today it was pants.  I occasionally entertain the idea of buying more of certain items to lessen the chance of running out, but we really don’t need more of anything, we just need to maintain the established system, and put ALL the laundry away.  It’s clean, its just not where its supposed to be.

Solution #2: Another set of keys.
A family member has misplaced his keys.  This one little foible has complicated things, by necessitating other family members having to come home to let the lost-key family member in the house, plan around them, etc. We used to have a back-up key, but a winter garage break-in caused us to change our ways.  And Yes, I know, the real answer is for lost-key son to find his keys.  But today’s solution is to suck it up and get another set of keys made.

Solution #3. Stock the Mom-Envelope.
The Mom-Envelope, with $40-ish dollars in small bills, is sadly empty.  A trip to the bank will solve the emptiness, and the Mom-envelope will be able to again solve morning scrambles for a few $$ here and there.

Solution #4: A Full Tank of Gas.
Luckily, I gassed up the other day.  But as I did, I recognized how having a full tank of gas eliminates a lot of worry (or conversely, worrying about running out causes a lot of stress.)

Solution #5: Fully charged technology.
The strategies are having multiple chargers and just one place to charge stuff (the kitchen counter).  Mysteriously, last night we discovered some of the chargers have wandered off, so a goal for today is to round them all up and keep them where they belong.  I have also started carrying an extra charger in my car.  A recent quote from the Minimalists reads “If your phone is constantly ‘about to die,’ then maybe it’s not the phone that has a problem.” (click here for the full article)

Solution #6: Communications.
My youngest is a rock star when it comes to reviewing the plan for his day.  Before going to sleep, and again in the morning, he reviews out loud what’s in store for his next 24 hours or so.  “Ok, Before-Care, then Band and Boy Scouts, right?  And I already packed my lunch.”  This helps us both to plan ahead and remember the details.

Solution #7: A Clean kitchen counter.
A quick way to de-rail movement in my morning is a messy kitchen.  Can’t make my coffee, eat breakfast, make smoothie, work on breakfast for the little guy, etc.  We left early and in a hurry, but that is the first thing on my list after I publish this!

So look around, and see where you can get your morning back on track!  Whether with these solutions or some of your own!

Is There Something Scary in Your Medicine Cabinet?

This is Clutter Awareness Week AND National Poison Prevention Week, and our bathroom cabinets are a common place for both clutter and potential poisons to be lurking!

This week, I challenge you to organize your bathroom drawers and cabinets, and since each of us has a bathroom, THIS MEANS YOU!

I am reading a book called “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo.  The author admitted to being confused once when cleaning out bathroom drawers.  She cleaned out one, and the next day went to clean out another, but mistook it for the first as the contents were so similar.   I would agree.  Most of us have the following items in some combination in our bathroom drawers or cabinets:

  • Over the counter medications, current and expired
  • Prescription medications, current and expired
  • Current and expired toiletries like face lotions, deodorant, cosmetics, hair products
  • Contacts, contact solution, eye glasses, eye washes
  • Dust. Hair.
  • Dental picks, old toothbrushes and floss
  • Sample size toiletries; purchased, picked up via traveling or hotel stays, or received in the mail.
  • Cleaning supplies, for ourselves or the bathroom
  • Unattached single pills, with or without packaging
  • Used disposable razors.
  • Depending on your family composition, hair accessories, shaving supplies, 17 different shampoos, etc.
  • Well, you get the picture.

And so much of this is Clutter and potentially dangerous.  So, how do we tackle this project?

Carve out some time. But don’t let this project overwhelm you!  Bathrooms are very manageable projects.  Tackle it all at once, or a drawer or cabinet a day for 20 minutes, and the end result is still the same.

Get cooperation from the decision makers in your home. The other people in your home can help with the project, or you can box up their stuff as guide them through the decision making process.  Talk to them about expiration dates, safety, and inventory control, just like I just did with you!

With each item, review if it is needed, used or loved. If it’s none of these, toss it!

    • So many of the items in a bathroom are intended to improve our lives, but using them improperly can have the opposite effect.  Using expired or questionable items just to save a few dollars can be dangerous.
    • Expired medications can change chemically, and deliver weak or unexpected results.  And old razors or random Qtips?  Ewwww!
    • If you have no idea how old an item is, side with caution and purge it.  Practice saying this with me: “Is using this worth the risk?”.  (The answer of course is “No!”)
    • The safety of you and your family is worth a few hours spent cleaning and a few dollars spent!

Once you get rid of the icky and / or dangerous stuff, Take some tips from Retail Inventory Management:

  • Use the products you have on hand before you buy more
  • Use the Use oldest items first
  • Store similar items together so you can see what you have in “stock”
  • Make a note of the items you need to have on hand, and do a quick inventory before you head to the grocery.  Keep the list handy, and make this pre-shopping inventory step a habit.

So spend a little time this week, and get rid of those monsters lurking in the bathroom!

Powerful Questions to Build Decision Making Muscles

Recently, a coaching client asked for Powerful Questions to ask herself, to increase her motivation to get rid of paper clutter.  Below are questions I ask my clients (and myself!) as we work, to clarify the paper decision-making process.  In my experience, we all keep too much paper – I am rarely called to help someone because they got rid of too much!  Therefore, these questions will nudge you to purge your papers.

In addition, we often tackle our paper management in little pieces of time, and not big blocks. So we need to get in the organizing and purging zone regularly, and that takes practice!  These questions help you build your decision-making muscles, so you can hit that organizing / purging zone more quickly.  Here’s another tip – the questions can be tweaked and used to review every type of clutter!!

  • Now is not the time to ask Why?  As in “Why on earth did I keep this?”  Not why, then, but “What am I going to do right now?”
  • What can I do today to help future Me out? (Purge, unsubscribe, etc.)  What can I digitize, or subscribe to online?
  • If you keep paper for “Just In Case”, ask these:
    • Will anyone ever ask me for this piece of paper / information?  (If no, toss it.)
    • Does this information exist elsewhere?  (If yes, likely can toss it.)
    • Do I need to be the keeper of this information?  (No.  It’s called the internet.)
    • Is this information still correct, or pertinent?
    • If I purge this paper, what’s the worst that can happen?  Can I accept that “worst”?
    • Are all these papers worth the mess?
  • If you feel that “I can’t purge my papers because they will somehow change my life”, ask these:
    • Does this paper represent a reasonable expectation of myself or someone else?
    • Does my happiness really hinge on me having this piece of paper?  (No.)
    • Does this paper hold the secret to life? How likely is it that I hold the secrets of the universe in a dusty box of papers from 10 years ago?
    • Wouldn’t a better change come from clearing the clutter?
  • If you know you “Don’t want it, but don’t know what to do with it”, ask these:
    • Do I need to recycle it or shred it?
    • Does someone else need it more?  (Pass it on!)
  • If you keep paper for Nostalgia / Sentimentality / Guilt, ask these:
    • Who am I keeping this for?  (I ask this question of parents who keep every school paper their child ever brought home.  Because they are keeping those papers for themselves.  In 20 years, the kids will NOT want old boxes of school papers.)
    • Charitable donations / solicitations:
      • Do I make decisions regarding charitable giving based on mail or phone calls I receive?  (Personally?  No. So I can let those go.)
      • Did I ask for this information, or did someone else decide I need it?  Do I agree?  (Use this to review the unsolicited greeting cards / address labels / stickers that non-profit organizations send us so that we feel obliged to send them money.)
    • If I’m keeping these old papers in respect for a loved one who passed away, would they really want me struggling under all this clutter?
  • If these papers reminds me you that you need to do something, ask these:
    • What action does this paper represent?  (Go ahead and act, or at least add the task to your to-do list, then let the paper go.)
    • What nugget of information on this paper do I really need to keep?  (For example, a business card represents contact info for a person.  Log the info into your address book, either paper or digital, and then toss the card.)

So, next time you are struggling with piles of paper, keep some of these in mind. Make little index cards or post-its of the questions that resonate with you most, and stick them up where you can see them!  Let them be your mantra as you review your papers and let some go!

Let’s Do Lunch This Week!

I’ve been tackling a project or habit every week this year so far – for example, last week I tweaked my website.  This week I am re-committing to eating a better lunch.  And for me, that means rebooting my Lunch Packing habit.

I’ve fallen into a bad habit of not packing my lunch when I am out of my office all day.  When I am out, I have three options:

  1. buy fast food wherever I happen to be;
  2. skip lunch until I get home, which usually leaves me feeling crummy; or
  3. settling for a Clif bar or granola bar, which are better than nothing but still not a solid lunch.

Not packing a lunch costs me money, can make me late for client appointments, and is unhealthy in lots of way.

Why is a Packed Lunch better?

  • It’s cheaper:  home-cooked food is almost always cheaper per meal than food we buy out at a restaurant.  In addition, packing a lunch allows us to use our leftovers well.
  • It’s more convenient:  Packing a lunch when I am out and about saves me the time of running in or waiting in line somewhere to buy something.
  • It’s healthier: Planning ahead lets us make healthier meals, with less fat and sodium, and better nutritional content. When I work from home, planning a healthy lunch keeps me from making unhealthy choices in my own kitchen!
  • It tastes better.  I’m a good cook, so my lunches are tastier than what I might buy while I’m out.

How To Make Packing Lunch Work:  Plan ahead, of course!

  • Start small, packing a lunch just one or two days a week at first, if that helps.
  • Invest a little money in a lunch bag and re-usable containers.  You may already have such items in your home.
  • Dedicate a lunch-zone in your kitchen for lunch packing,  Stock it with plastic utensils, napkins, lunch and sandwich bags or re-usable containers, fruit bowl, etc., to make your assembly easy.
  • When you’re at the grocery this week, make sure to pick up healthy lunch items.
  • Make extra for dinner tonight.  I warmed up a delicious leftover cheeseburger last week, and soup and chili are always great the next day.
  • Busy mornings?  Pack lunches at night, after dinner.  We easily forget in the morning, so having the bags packed and in the fridge make success likely!

What’s for lunch?

  • Be creative!  You know what you like, there is no reason that all the things you love can’t be packed in a lunch!
  • A variety of small items is great for me, as I drive between clients or meetings during the day. String cheese, fresh fruit, granola or clif bars, hardboiled eggs (already peeled, of course), pretzels, carrots and other veggie sticks all satisfy my need to snack but are also easily stored and consumed in bits and pieces.
  • If I know I will be seated somewhere as I eat my lunch, I’ll pack the tuna salad, sandwich or leftovers (I just made a batch of this today, for lunches all week).

So join me in a packed lunch this week, and save time and money while eating better!