I’ve Organized Others, Now It’s My Turn

My brain is busy this week.  I have spent time these last few weeks getting everyone else squared away and prepared for their next steps.  And now… I think it’s my turn!

August / Back-To-School time is my personal New Year celebration, instead of January.  So, what am I doing this week to celebrate my New Year?

(And, What Can YOU Do for YOU this week?!!)

Clearing Out:

  • The daily in-box is getting a little unruly again, so I will Unsubscribe daily from 5 retailers or mailing lists until I see some improvement.
  • Last weekend, I reviewed my kitchen and medicine cabinet contents and purged a few things.  I also committed to using up (really, using DOWN) our stock of food, toiletries and paper goods over the next few weeks without purchasing more.  This activity saves money and frees up space by clearing out extra inventory.
  • I also have a couple of bags of donations to drop off later in the week when I drive near my favorite charitable organization.

Personal Development and Self-Care:

  • 5 weeks ago, I set a handful of 6-week goals, so I will see some of those goals completed next week, just in time to set more! I use this form from Spark People for setting SMART goals.
  • I made appointments!  We parents always take care of our students, and now its my turn. I made an appointment for my annual physical.  The date isn’t for a month, but I feel relieved having made the call!
  • I tweaked my closet.  I know, it’s still August, but there were a few items to purge or put away, and a few others to pull forward for usage in the next few weeks!!

Take Care of Maintenance:

  • After I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, I made my grocery list and stocked up on essentials.  I know, the goal stated above is to clear out some inventory, but we still needed a few things!
  • I made the Project list for Fall, and I’ll work those small projects into my weekly tasks for the next month or so.
  • I made even more appointments:  My minivan goes in for scheduled maintenance on Saturday, the carpet cleaners and HVAC fella come next Monday, and our EWaste Home Collection is scheduled for September.

WHAT CAN YOU DO THIS WEEK to get organized, pare down, clear clutter and build yourself up?!

I Love My New Packing Cubes

My morning view on va-ca!

As we prepared to travel to California in April, I took a moment and ordered packing cubes from Amazon.

I rarely encourage my readers to go out and buy something, but these specific items might make your life better! I love my packing cubes!  My set cost me $25 and showed up on my porch a few weeks before our trip.

What are packing cubes?   The image to the left is the set of cubes I have .  They are nylon and mesh zippered pouches.  My set of 4 ranges is size from small (11″ x 6.75″ x 4″) to XLarge (17.5″ x 12.75″ x 4″).  I’ve also seen sets that are 4 of the same size. Search for your favorite combination!

As I Pack:

Packing cubes help with the packing process!  I like that I can lay the cubes out on my dresser instead of a carry-on or big lunky suitcase. With packing cubes, you can:

  • compartmentalize your clothes and personal items, like packing pants in one cube and shirts in another; or
  • pack casual wear in one and dressier clothes in another, and then just pull out the cube that you need when you get to your destination; or
  • roll your outfits together in the packing cubes and zip them tight, then pull out just what you want; or
  • for short trips, each family member can use their own cube in the big communal suitcase, saving lots of time and trouble!
  • I use the smaller cubes for pajamas and swim wear (packed weeks before the CA trip and then set aside) and socks, bras and underwear.
  • Also, I find that my packing cubes help me realize how much and what I’m actually packing!

One of the strengths of the packing cubes is that you can pack them really full of your items and then zip the cube tight, which helps keep your items compressed in your bag, taking up much less room.

When I Get Where I Am Going:

If you have to open your suitcase mid-trip, packing cubes keep your stuff from flying out!

I rarely unpack at hotels, but having my cubes makes it ridiculously easy to pop the cubes out of my luggage and into a drawer.

If I leave my suitcase packed, I can grab the cube I need and access just the item I’m looking for.  If you are packing up and moving on without heading home, leaving the cubes packed makes transitions easy.

My cube set came with a laundry bag, so I usually use the laundry bag and then compress it into the smallest amount of space possible, too, for heading home.  If I am gone a short time, I will just repack the largest cube as my dirty laundry bag, which makes unpacking a breeze.

When I get home:

If the packing cubes need a re-fresh, they are machine washable.

After I’ve unpacked from my most recent trip, I re-pack a small cube with my travel PJs and one of my swimming suits and all the other cubes folded flat, and then leave it packed, ready to go again next time.  I already shared this idea a couple of weeks ago with my toiletry bag, which stays packed all the time, and now I’m excited to use it for these items, too!

A lot of these packing tips can be used for better packing, with or without packing cubes, but I love my packing cubes, give them a try and see if they’ll work for you!

Keep Your Travel Essentials Packed ALL THE TIME

Recently, a man walked up to me before Mass and said “You look like a person who carries band-aids.  Could I have one, please?  My son cut his finger and needs some help.”  Not only did I have band-aids to share, I also provided a cleansing wipe, alcohol pad and a few tissues.

Yep, that’s how I roll.  I carried a mom-bag even before I was a mom.  I’m the one with a safety pin, phone charger, hand sanitizer, gum (even though I don’t chew it), toothpicks and tylenol.  If you need something and I’m in the room, go ahead and ask, I probably have it.

My thoughts are on travel this month and I want to talk about my travel kit. Our “travel kit”, shave kit, travel toiletry bag,  etc. is the bag of travel and hygiene essentials that we all should get used to taking with us when we travel.

And here is a little secret – Keep it packed and up-to-date ALL THE TIME to make life and travel so much easier!  I travel often enough, especially during the summer, that leaving these essentials packed all the time saves lots of time and hassle.

How to?  Here we go!

  1. Determine your list of essentials.  Yes, I actually made a list, printed and laminated it and posted it on the inside of one of my medicine cabinet doors (I had a list for the kids when they were little, too).  My list includes:
  • toothpaste, toothbrush,  shampoo, conditioner, soap / bodywash, face lotion with sunscreen, body lotion, hair styling product and comb, and deodorant.  A travel size of all of these items stay in the kit all the time, as do
  • lip balm, nail trimmers, tweezers, scissors and an extra eyeglass case.
  • Planning for emergencies, I also pack a glass repair kit, mini-sewing kit and first aid kit.
  • When I am ready to leave, I will add: contacts and solution, cosmetics, nail polish (for touch ups), and a jewelry pouch.
  • In the kitchen, there is a bag and a check list ready for packing my vitamins, protein shake, and travel coffee (Starbuck’s Via Packets) and tea for just in case.

2.  Find a pouch or two that will hold everything. Consider your options: washable (mine is plastic and wipes clean);  transparent (best for air travel, and for being able to see and find stuff!) or opaque (for privacy); appropriately sized – not too big or too small! I use two for longer trips, with shower stuff in one and everything else in the other, as they are less bulky in a suitcase this way.

3.  If you have a habit of forgetting your kit in hotel rooms, you could use a resealable quart or freezer size ziploc with disposable items inside.

4.  Check your linen closet or medicine cabinets for extras of the essentials, and populate your kit.  Grab travel sizes of your essentials, or those hotel sized toiletries you seem to collect but never use!  Once you know what you need, and what you already have on hand, take a swing through the travel size aisle at your local pharmacy for the items you’re missing.

5.  Most importantly, when you return from your adventures, check your list and your pouch contents again and restock anything you may have depleted while you were traveling.  Put your pre-packed travel kit away until you pack for your next adventure, when it will be waiting to help you out!

Organizing Resources to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

We have good intentions want to do the Right Thing, but we don’t always know how!

Here are responsible and eco-friendly destinations to purge common household clutter!

 
 
Clearing clutter from my weekly newsletter, this post is where my resources shall live from now on!  I’ll keep it updated, and if you would like me to add something, email me at Colleen@peaceofmindpo.com.  Thanks!
 
 
 
 

Mattresses:

General household items to donate, Chicago’s Southwest Suburbs

 
 
Recycling Resources in General:
I follow Seth Godin and he shared an amazing idea:
  • Donate your frequent flyer miles to people in need! Check this out!
  • “Miles4Migrants is a 501(c)(3) charity, dedicated to using donated frequent flyer miles to help people impacted by war, persecution, or disaster start a new beginning in a new home. We partner with other nonprofits to identify refugees, asylees, asylum-seekers, and their immediate family members who have legal approval to travel, but cannot afford airfare. Together, we can transform miles into a life-changing force for good.” (From the Miles4Migrants website)
 
 
Shredding Services:
 
 
Clothing, Toys, House Items:
 
Children’s or Parenting books, diapers (child or adult)
  • SWADDLE collection box at Alzein Pediatrics,
    • 6700 W 95th Street, Suite 250 in Oak Lawn or
    • 2850 W 95th Street, Suite 400 in Evergreen Park.
 
Dental Hygiene Product Recycling:
 
Infant and Children Car Seats:
  • Car Seat Recycling, https://carseatrecycling.com/
  • Also, the seats can be recycled by cutting off all the straps and removing the cover. The plastic seat can be then placed in the recycling bin. If you do not recycle, please cut off the straps and place it in the trash.
  • Every year in September is Child Safety Week. In 2021, it was Sept. 19 thru 25th and Target had a trade-in program, recycle a child safety seat and receive a percentage off of another seat or baby item.
 
Valuation: In General
 
Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange:
 
 
 
General Donation Locations:
  • Donate Illinois, http://www.donateillinois.org/ to arrange a pick up
  • Amazon.Com, GiveBackBox.com, to donate items back via your amazon box
  • Restoration Ministries, Inc., 253 E. 159th St., Harvey, 708-876-8413 “We pick up donations of furniture, household items, appliances, tools, lawn equipment – just about everything. Serving Chicago, suburbs and Northwest Indiana. We also take cars.”  www.restorationministries.net
  • Habitat for Humanity, https://www.habitat.org/restores/donate-goods
  • AmVets, Purple Hearts, Goodwill: Yes, donating items is the eco-friendly choice. These organizations have multiple markets for donated items.
  • This company shreds for free every Wednesday afternoon and recycles the paper into book covers (Thanks, AW!): http://www.westrockaurora.com/docdes.html
  • “St Vincent Depaul has a location at 7010 W 159th St, Orland Park, IL 60462 and will allow you to keep the truck for donations (estate sales, large cleanings of garage and basements AND will always take textiles- bagged/tagged separately)”
  • The Toy Box Connection, http://www.toyboxconnection.com/ Located behind LakeView Plaza, 159th Street and LaGrange Road, Orland
 
 
Antiques / Consignment / Estates:  Places to post On-line sales beyond Craigslist and Facebook (I’m just sharing, not recommending any of these):
 
Bedding / Towels / Clean shredded paper:
  • PAWS of Tinley Park, 8301 W. 191st Street, Tinley, Park, 815-464-7298
 
Books:
 
Clothes, Professional:
  • St. Xavier University (SXU), 3700 W. 103rd St., is accepting donations of new and gently used professional clothing to benefit its Champ’s Career Closet, a free resource that provides professional and business-casual clothing for SXU students. Items accepted include button-down shirts and blouses, dress slacks, blazers, suits, belts, ties, dress shoes, purses, handbags and briefcases. Champ’s Career Closet will also accept closet equipment including hangers and garment racks. For more information, call the SXU Center for Success at 773.298.3131 or email centerforsuccess@sxu.edu.” (From the Beverly Review)
 
Coins:
  • Kedzie Koins and Jewelry, Chicago, 773-436-0777
  • LaGrange Coin and Stamp, 25 W. Plainfield Road, Countryside, 708-579-5397
 
Dumpster Rental:
Electronics / E-Waste:

Gasoline:

Haulers:
  • (Paid and awesome!) 1-800-Got-Junk
  • (Paid) Rourke Property Maintenance,  www.rourkemaintenance.com/
  • (Paid) All Clear Clean Out Services, www.allclearcleanout.com/
  • (Free) Restoration Ministries, 708-596-9114
  • (Free) Salvation Army, 312-738-4360
  • (Free) Pass It On, 5434 W. 127th Street, Crestwood, 708-824-0433
  • (Free) The Bridge Thrift Store, 15605 S. 71st Court, Orland Park, 708-614-6972, or via email at jason@thebridgeteencenter.org
 
Hazardous Waste:
 
Mattresses:
 
Metals, Precious:
  • DMK Metals, David Kas, President and Precious Metal Buyer, ” old, unwanted jewelry, coins, sterling pieces, dental gold, etc.”  DMK-Metal.com, (847)508-0224, david@dmk-metal.com
 
Record Albums:
Styrofoam Recycling:
 
Textile Recycling:
Tools:

Stick With Routines, Especially When You Don’t Want To!

Chatting with my accountability partner this morning, she stated (again) that Routines and Adventures don’t always play well together.

Let’s face it: sometimes, when life is getting just a little crazy, our routines may start to slip.  In the midst of the chaos, you might be tempted to…

  • skip your morning work out, or
  • grab a snack on the run instead of eating a healthy breakfast, or
  • skimp on sleep so you can fit more in to your day, or
  • exist on convenience foods instead of full meals, or
  • merely pile up papers instead of actually working on them, or
  • leave the dirty or clean (or both) laundry in a heap in (or near) the basket, instead of putting it away for Future You to use.

And there are certain times or life events that contribute to the crazy or chaotic life.  When are we most likely to abandon or forget our routines?  When we are :

  • tired;
  • sad;
  • sick (or someone around us is);
  • traveling;
  • super busy;
  • in a life transition, like new house or new job or new baby; or
  • nearing a deadline for work or personal projects.

Routines (at least the ones I talk about all the time) consist of tasks that need to be done daily or weekly to keep your life humming along, for example:

  • nutrition;
  • sleep hygiene;
  • personal hygiene;
  • staying hydrated;
  • maintaining the basics at home; or
  • paying bills.

Sticking with our routines helps us through those crazy times.  Our routines keep us healthy and strong and on track during the busy times, and then they help us get back to normal more quickly.    When you find yourself wanting to ditch those routines, or that you already have?  That’s when you probably need them the most!

Let me be the little voice in your head this week, urging you to make the good and healthy choices even when life gets hectic or when you’re on the road or adventuring.  That is when we need the consistency and self care the most.  Stick with those Routines, especially when you don’t want to!

Prioritize and Make Better Decisions With The Eisenhower Box

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

I have been remiss.  I know about a really great tool for prioritizing tasks and I have never written about it.  Sorry about that.  I learned it from Steven Covey’s books on productivity years ago, but it’s actually credited to Dwight D. Eisenhower and appropriately named The Eisenhower Box.

 (Not this kind of box…)

Seriously, I’ve never written about this?  Unbelievable.

Upon googling the term just moment’s ago, I learned the tool is also called the Eisenhower Decision Matrix or the Urgent / Important Matrix and these names begin to explain how and why this tool works.

Eisenhower drew this box, with the two axes of Important and Urgent.  His theory was that any and every task is either Important or Not Important, and either Urgent or Not Urgent.   Of course, there is some in-between, but those are the basics.  Here is the blank box.

(from theorderexpert.com)

Important tasks fuel your mission and vision, improve your bottom line, help you reach your goals.  (And Non-Important tasks do not.)

Urgent tasks have a time component that demands your attention, with a deadline attached. (And Non-Urgent tasks do not.)

What Eisenhower’s quote, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important”  also tells us is that we risk getting so distracted by urgent tasks all the time that we fail to take care of our important tasks.

These two axes together give us the option of 4 different distinctions for any given task or duty we have.

  • (Quadrant 1) Important and Urgent
  • (Q2) Non-Important and Urgent
  • (Q3) Important and Non-Urgent
  • (Q4) Non-Important and Non-Urgent

So, if we can agree that almost any task can either be Important or Non-Important, and Urgent or Non-Urgent, then we can use this tool to sort and prioritize our tasks.  If we can determine what is both important and urgent for our goals and productivity, we will get our important work done with more ease and focus and less stress and confusion.

If we take this tool one step further, we can designate a quadrant for all of our tasks, and take the next step – DO, DECIDE, DELEGATE or DELETE, required on those as well.

from luxafor.com

What would each type of task look like:

  • Important and Urgent:  Today’s work.  For me, go and work with client, give presentation, write article.   Working on these tasks is the best and most productive use of my time.  Their completion moves me towards my goals.
  • Non-Important but Urgent (time related):  Order routine office supplies, respond to today’s texts and emails, drop off donations from a client to a charitable organization, post to Facebook business page, publish newsletter.  Many of these tasks are important to do, but it isn’t important WHO completes the task.  I can ask myself, am I the only person who can do these tasks, or could I delegate them to others?
  • Important and Non-Urgent: design a new presentation, start a fitness plan, visit a financial advisor, re-imagine my website.  Make a Plan and a Date (though not today) for getting these tasks done. 
  • Non-Important and Non-Urgent: scrolling social media, binge watching ANYTHING, eating cookies, over-organizing the minutiae in your desk drawer.
    You could let any all of these tasks go. 

Let’s use the Eisenhower Box to prioritize your organizing projects.

At my classes, I give 4 possible projects and then walk folks through the decision process to pick the first project.  The four projects are organizing your

  1. Kitchen,
  2. Linen Closet,
  3. Garage or
  4. Attic.

Let’s imagine these are your 4 projects and you want to decide which has the highest priority, and is therefore your starting point.

All are important, so let’s consider urgent.

Attics are rarely urgent projects.  The stuff in the attic has been there for years, and it will still be there once the other projects are complete.

Garages are sometimes urgent, depending on the time of year.  Let’s say the goal is to organize your garage so you can park your car indoors this winter, but it’s June.  Important yes, but not too urgent.

Kitchen or linen closet?

Did your doctor give you a new diagnosis that requires a special diet?  Are you having a party soon, or you just really need to go to the grocery?  Then, your kitchen organizing project is both important and time sensitive (urgent).

What if there is a drive at a local animal shelter this weekend, though, collecting used towels and bedding for the animals?  That creates a deadline and therefore urgency for your linen closet project.

So, in order, we would tackle either the kitchen or linen closet first, then the other second, then the garage and finally the attic.

Make sense?

Look at your day and week this week and imagine where else you can use this great decision making tool!

Yesterday Was a 5 Bag Day (Whew!)

Yesterday was complicated.   I left home knowing full well that I would probably be gone over 12 hours.  That is not noteworthy, lots of folks are gone for that long.
However, I had 2 presentations scheduled at a learning center in Indiana from 10-noon and 3-5 with a short break between, and then a school board meeting from 4 to 8:30 (yes, I know, those times overlap).  I needed different supplies, paperwork and outfits for these different responsibilities with no opportunity to stop at home between.  I recognized that I needed to prep really well for my day.
And that meant BAGS.
Lots of bags.
As I gathered my thoughts for the day, I also gathered my belongings.  I packed:
  • A professional looking bag for my presentation materials like my notes for the presentation, my handout copies, promotional pens to share, water bottle and a few visuals.  That was easy to put together and then set by the door.
  • Another professional looking bag for the school board meeting, with my notes and materials for that meeting.  Also then set by the door.
  • A third bag for a back up shirt and light sweater, because I knew with 12 hours gone and the need for options.  I would only grab this out of the car if I needed it.
  • The 4th and 5th bags, my daily go bag (discussed below) and my handbag backpack.
What do I want you to know about bags and how to make them work for you?
  • Mentally Walk Through Your Day. We’ve got a lot coming at us most days.  Take a few moments in the morning (or the night before!) to mentally walk through your day so you’re sure to bring along what you need!
  • Bigger is not always better.  Some days I wonder if I just need one REALLY BIG bag, perhaps with wheels or its own filing system. But that would be super heavy and probably not a good choice logistically!  Stick with a manageable size, even if you need to sub- sort.
  • Keep Essentials Always Packed.  One bag is always packed.  A friend / client observed that I carry a go-bag with me every day.  (OK, she called it a diaper bag though I don’t have a small child).  But I do always care it with me and it is indeed always packed.  It contains my small charger bag with all my cords plus a power bank and a multi port charging station.  I also carry a back up shirt in there in case I get grubby at a client appt, a small bag of snacks for just in case, a small bag of toiletries like a toothbrush and toothpaste, and the keyboard for my IPad.  These is plenty of room left over, too, in case I want to toss in my Ipad, bullet journal, book, etc.
At my classes, I mention our family’s Swim Bag.  We have a bag packed all the time with anything you would need to go to the beach or the pool:  beach sheet, frisbee, swim goggles, sunscreen and bug spray, diving toys, etc.  That bag is always packed and ready to go.
What are your essentials (just a few, not a million)?  Keep those items in your bag every day to save time and trouble later!
  • Review the Essentials Once in A While:  Clean out and review the contents of your go-bag / briefcase / handbag regularly.  Don’t let rubbish or reading materials or heavy pocket change pile up, or your shoulders will start to protest with the extra weight!  And be ready to re-stock things like snacks or tissue packs.
  • Unpack the rest of the bags EVERY DAY.  When that many bags leave the house with me in the mornings, the same or more return with me.  And the optional bags need to be unpacked EVERY DAY.   The first chance I had, I unpacked all of the bags but my go bag, and put all the stuff away.  I DO NOT have room in my office / family room for days and weeks-old partially packed bags of random belongings.
    I also don’t have the mental energy to remember if a personal item like my dressy black sandals are in a bag or actually in my closet where they belong when I’m not wearing them.  Seriously, my items have homes already!  Who has the time to look everywhere?  No thanks!

Get your thoughts and stuff and bags in order!

When Your College Student Moves Home For The Summer

May is a busy month most years.  But this year, we added an extra layer to the already busy month, when my college student son who lives on campus (the other lives at home) moved home for the summer.  With all of his stuff.

I’ve published over 430 blog articles on my web page.  That’s a lot of articles.  But moving a young adult back home was uncharted territory.   Whoooo, boy.

My sons are either the luckiest people ever or completely tortured for having a mother who is also a certified professional organizer.   I prefer to go with “lucky”, they may have a different opinion.  But here is how we handled Moving Home For Summer!

The Move Home begins long before the big day.

  • The Moving-Home process really starts when your student leaves for the school year.  DO NOT take over your student’s bedroom or storage space when they go away to school. And
  • Keep an inventory of what moved to college with your student.
  • Clear as much out of the bedroom as possible before your student moves home.  I have spent a couple of hours in my son’s room while he’s been away, clearing out clutter, containerizing keepsakes, etc.  I know, ideally your children will do this themselves.  Ideally…
  • Plan for the Big Stuff:  In April, I cleared out one side of his closet to make room for the large storage boxes we sent off to school with him.  Expect to use under-bed storage, too.
  • In March, my son brought home a large suitcase full of stuff he knew he wouldn’t need anymore, to start the process.

Day of:

  • I did not help with the actual pick up / load up  / drive home day.  Son and husband tackled that day, bless them both.  Obviously, my son’s stuff did not come home from college nearly as tidily as it moved TO college, but they loaded up and got home in good time, so props to them.  The two packing tips I would share are 1.  zip-ties to bundle hung clothing together, and 2. reusable shopping bags for the last 10 minutes to toss the last of the random stuff into.
  • Unpack the car when you get home.  All of it.  Yes, all of it.
  • Accept that the mess will grow before it shrinks.

The Week After the Move Home:

  • I have to chuckle, my son just keeps saying he didn’t realize he had so much stuff, and so much he doesn’t need.  These have been teaching moments, to help review his belongings and determine what he does and doesn’t need.  There were a few days when stuff wasn’t getting put away, until he and I realized there was older stuff in his drawers that he had to make decisions about and probably get rid of, to make room for the stuff he does want to keep.
  • Unpack everything.  If food moved home, plan to use up what is perishable.  If items are shelf stable – dried goods, unopened hand soap or shampoo, etc. – consider repacking them for the move back to school to save $$ on restocking.
  • Wash everything (or mostly everything). Dishes, bedding, yep, just wash it all.  He cleaned the toaster and the coffee maker.  Review everything, and make sure it’s all clean.  You REALLY don’t want to find a dirty dish or old towel in three months.  Ew….
  • And, once the stuff is clean, re-pack it.  Kitchen items with kitchen items, books with books, room decor / cords / lamps, etc. all together. Most of the storage cubes in his closet are already re-packed and ready to go back so school in August.

Please, learn from our experiences!  And enjoy your summer with your family!

Organized People… Use 20 Minutes to Make a Big Difference!

The most important step in the organizing process is the every-day-for-the-rest-of-your-life step.  I’m talking about maintenance.

There are tough steps, for many folks, along the path of getting organized: getting started, staying on task or making decisions, for example.  And that’s is completely understandable.  But conquering and assimilating maintenance of your organization into your daily life will be the step that reaps the most rewards.

Twenty minutes can make a huge difference in life.

Recently, I discussed this with a client who was frustrated because, while she has made great progress on her organizing projects, some times the clutter still piles up.

I hear you, sister. I’m guessing we have all felt this same frustration!

I shared how I made a commitment to 20 minutes every morning for my New Year’s Resolution, and that this focused routine really keeps me on track.  I create calm in my home, clear clutter, fortify myself plus start some laundry, all in 20-ish minutes.

What simple tasks would help you and your home immeasurably if you could tackle them in little pieces every day?  It may not be in the morning, and let’s face it – some days may eat up those 20 minutes.  But the Habit and Focus and Routine still matter!

Here’s what mine looks like, what could yours look like?

Somewhere between 7:45 and 8:15 most mornings, I do the same tasks:

  • I check bedrooms: turn off lights, straighten beds and grab the laundry hamper if my son hasn’t already taken it to the basement like he’s supposed to! (Elapsed time 1 minute)
  • Next, my bedroom: I make the bed if I haven’t already, hang my walking clothes and pajamas on their hooks, toss dirty laundry in the hamper I still have with me from my son’s room. (Elapsed time 3 minutes)
  • I check the bathroom and hang up or wipe down whatever is out of place. (Elapsed time 2 minutes)
  • Dining room / living room: I straighten or collect any random shoes at the front door (or any other clutter), turn off the porch light and open up the curtains to let in the sunshine. (Elapsed time 2 minutes)
  • Kitchen, office / family room / back door area (all one big long space in my house): Obviously, this takes more time. I start my second cup of coffee, take my vitamins and make my smoothie. I fill my water bottles for the day, put my water and lunch in my cooler bag, then set it all by the back door in my office. If I’m really paying attention, I’ll check the weekly menu to start thinking about dinner prep, take out the trash or load or unload the dishwasher. Once I’m done making a mess, I grab counter spray and a microfiber cloth and wipe down the counters and table. (elapsed time 10 minutes)
  • Finally, I check the family room / office area for any more stray clutter, shoes, laundry, etc., toss the microfiber cloth from the counters, dish towels and cloth, etc., and take the laundry to the laundry room to start a load before I head out for the day. (elapsed time 5 minutes)

These 20-ish minutes are the BEST INVESTMENT in my day EVER. I can leave my house with a calm mind, food and snacks to sustain me during my busy day, and a clear conscience! And I come home to a relatively calm and organized space, which does wonders for my Peace of Mind and my productivity.

If you have doubts, remember that if you do this almost every day, clutter won’t have accumulated for days or weeks. Piles won’t be large, surfaces will be clearer. Regular little bits of maintenance help us out EVERY day.  EVERY DAY.  And it doesn’t have to take long.

What maintenance tasks could you add to your daily routine?  Go for it!

Organized People… Organize Their Garage. Again. (and again and again…)

The weather turns warmer, our thoughts turn to… the Garage!

This is a great time to tackle the garage project!  In Spring,  communities often offer additional resources to help you purge clutter and create order, for example:

  • Paper Shredding events;
  • Electronic Waste (E-Waste) and Hazardous Waste collection events;
  • Special waste collection dates, for putting large things out at the curb;
  • Community Garage sale weekends (at your own home) or Rummage/ Community Garage Sales (in your neighborhood, you rent a table and sell your items there); or
  • Spring cleaning and organizing supply sales at big box stores like Home Depot or Menards.

If you’re getting the itch to organize your garage, here’s your check list to make it happen!

  1.  Don’t let the size of the space overwhelm you. Like any organizing project, break down big and complicated tasks into smaller, manageable pieces.  Smaller pieces also allow us to make progress on a project even if we don’t have time to finish all at once.  And remember the goal of a garage – car storage, first and foremost.
  2. Grab a Clipboard to help you stay on track!  Look around for a moment, then start jotting down those specific tasks that need to be completed!  “Clean Garage” isn’t specific, but “break down cardboard boxes flat”,  “tune up bicycles”, “winterize snow blower”, “hang peg board” or “go through drawers in work bench” surely are.
  3. Assemble your supplies.  Grab garbage bags, zip ties, sharpie and post-it notes, and whatever else you might need before you get started so you don’t wander off!
  4. Carve out a couple of hours.  DO NOT expect to spend the whole day on this project, or that is EXACTLY what will happen.  Our work expands to fill the time we give it (Parkinson’s Law).
  5. Ask for help!  Garages are big spaces with big (potentially heavy and awkward) items to move around.  Ask for help from friends or family members, in exchange for your help on their project next time!  (That itemized task list from Step 2 will be helpful when it comes to delegating tasks!)
  6. If more than one person uses the garage, consult with your decision makers to decide what stays and goes!   And remember that for some people, the decision -making part is the most overwhelming part of the organizing process.  So, be firm but kind!
  7. Get to it!  Decide on 5-10 broad categories of items, and sort your items.  You may end up with, for example, piles of yard tools, automotive maintenance, holiday decor, sporting goods, tools, house project accessories (paint, plumbing, etc) and others.
  8. Look critically at the contents of your piles, and let go of the clutter.  The broken, unclaimed and unfixable items, the unused and unwanted stuff, the plain old rubbish.
    -If you haven’t fixed it yet, you probably won’t.
    -If you’re keeping it for “just in case”, don’t.  More will always come.
    -If you are waiting for just the right time to use something, stop waiting.  Either use it or don’t, but commit and then act.  You deserve better than living in clutter.
    -If you don’t know where it came from, or who it even belongs to, time to let it go!
  9. Decide how and where to store what is left.  Store the items you use often close at hand, and the less often used items can be stored up high, down low or in stacked and lidded containers.
    -Set up space convenient to your house door for household inventory like paper towels or cleaning supplies.
    -Be safe when storing tools or chemicals, and keep them locked up and out of the reach of children and pets.
    -Keep bikes and kid toys near the door for easy access.
    -Store like-sized and shaped items together – large flat pieces, like plywood, lengths of  kitchen counter or folding tables – to save room else where in the garage for other items.
    -Use your vertical space as well as possible, like peg boards, tool racks or ceiling hooks.
    -In addition, use your horizontal spaces for work space and NOT for long term storage.
    -Please, don’t use cardboard in your garage for storage of important or personal items because cardboard can be inviting to bugs and rodents, and can harbor dust, dampness and mold.
  10. Finally, put a date on the calendar NOW for working through this process again in the Fall, since these spaces never seem to stay perfectly organized!

Get out there, and get organizing!