Category: Organizing for Mom

First Step of Shopping? Check Your Inventory.

A thought occurred to me very soon after I posted last week’s blog article, “Can We Go Buy School Supplies?”.

It’s the obvious first step, although a little too obvious for me, as I forget to mention it.  That obvious but not-so-obvious first step to shopping should be make your list and then “Check What You Have On Hand”.

It’s always better, from both a financial and clutter clearing standpoint, to use up what you have on hand before you purchase anything more.  This will help you:

  • Save Money;
  • Use items before they expire;
  • Eliminate duplicates; and
  • Clear Clutter!

Here are 5 examples of how this first step has helped me, just in the last week.

When we prepared to go to Office Depot last week…

We first checked our stash of school supplies – lots of pens, mechanical pencils and folders on hand.  We had depleted much of our stash getting the younger son ready a few weeks ago, but we still started our shopping at home, in our own cabinet.

Menu Planning.

Shopping your inventory may be a little more obvious when it comes to making dinner.  Driving home from a double client day yesterday, I was pondering what to make for dinner since I have not been to the grocery yet (and I was tired and really didn’t want to go!).  I remembered my son asked for home-made chicken noodle soup the other day, and as I mentally inventoried my cabinets and freezer while I drove, I realized I had what I needed to make soup for dinner.  And it was good!

Shop Your Home for Home Decor.

I spent a fun few hours organizing and staging space with a client over the weekend.  I assembled new storage units for her office, and then we set up her office space.  What was really awesome was looking around her home and borrowing from other rooms a lamp here, some art there and a potted plant from the old house that hadn’t found a home yet.  The finished space made her so happy, and cost only our time and the price of the new storage cubes.

It’s time to paint my son’s bedroom.  

Our first step is to check and see what paint we have already, especially considering we just painted the kitchen and office. We will also look for any supplies, like paint brushes and rollers, etc., before we head to Home Depot to buy paint and supplies.

The Magic Pants Bin in my basement.

The age of our Magic Bin in the basement has passed, but I will still share the idea.  With three sons, we always had current-sized clothes for the boys plus the in-between sizes that someone would soon grow out of or into.  For years, we always checked the off-size bins of clothes for the next size of clothing before we hit the stores, and like Magic, we could usually find a lot of what we needed in the Magic Bins.  The youngest son is now the tallest, though, so hand-me-downs and the Magic Bin have been retired.  But the idea is still valid!

Before you buy more stuff, always consider this very important first step – Check What You Have On Hand!

“Can We Go Buy School Supplies?”

I was pondering tonight’s article topic this evening as I made dinner.  After his first day of classes today, I asked my high school senior (in jest) if there were any really important, hard-hitting organizational questions he would like to ask.

His response?  “Can We Go Buy School Supplies?”

Uh, well, sure.  That wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, topic-wise, or how I planned to spend my evening, but sure, we can head to Office Max/Depot.

As we stood in the very long line (I love my son very much), I was still ruminating on how to craft our experience into a meaningful blog post (doesn’t everyone use their waiting-in-line time to mentally write articles?).  I asked him what organizational tips we could learn from our experiences. Here is what we came up with :

  1. Do Not Go Shopping at 6 pm Monday evening when 2 or more local schools started back to school that day.  (um, yeah, that…)
  2. ALWAYS Use a list. Mentally walk through your schedule, or make a copy of the schedule and jot down next to each class the items needed.
  3. If your school doesn’t provide a list, don’t shop until you have been to class.
  4. If your school does provide a list (like our district’s elementary  and middle schools), shop as as soon as its published, and early in the day.  Why would you wait?!?!
  5. Use coupons.
  6. Bring an umbrella.
  7. Eat dinner first, since you don’t know how long this adventure may take.
  8. Don’t even bother losing your cool.  I apparently used the word “peeved” as we stood in the very long line (did I mention it was a very long line?!).  My son and I then discussed “peeved”, with my explanation being “I just can’t be bothered with actual anger.  What is the point?  No one benefits, it serves no purpose.” And he agreed.  There was a toddler losing his mind at the front of the store, and I’m sure perhaps a few of us in line wanted to throw a tantrum at one time or another. But again, what’s the point?  Instead…
  9. Use your wait time constructively.  Breathe deep, scroll FB on your phone, chat with the folks around you, mentally write articles or sing songs in your head.
  10. The line at Office Max/Depot is not the place to buy Swedish fish or cherry sours.  No matter how good they look.

On the way home, I realized that next year, this son will be doing his own back-to-school shopping away at college. I am totally okay with that, this is not (yet) one of those weepy “my baby is growing up” posts, though I sense those could be coming.  But I am even more glad we had the chance to talk it out!

This is about as close to a guest blogger as I’m doing to get, so I dedicate this to D.

To:

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Book time with me in person or virtually;
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Call / text 708.790.1940
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No, The First Step of Organizing is Not “Go Shopping”

Very often when we get the urge to organize, we start first with the urge to go and get more stuff!  “I need better containers!  New hangers!  Different bookshelves!  Cool new coat hooks, boxes, office supplies…”  well, the list goes on and on.  Lots of people go out and buy more stuff before they start actually organizing.
I understand this compulsion, friends.  I do.    Why do we want to shop first?
  • When faced with a cluttered space, of course it is more fun to think about the shiny new things in our “finished” space than to start with the hard choices, the heavy boxes, the dirty stuff!
  • Buying new things can lead to tangible improvement, something we can touch and point to and say “Look at how much better this space is now that we have xxxxx (fill in the blank).”
  • We may not know how to tackle our project, but we certainly know how to purchase things, either in a store or on-line.
  • If we already have clutter, it’s possible that “let’s go buy something new” is our usual response to a problem.
I recently worked with a lovely client in her laundry room. As we got started, she mentioned some great product ideas for shelving units and wall hooks for cleaning supplies, and I was all set to google those ideas on my phone, too, because Yes! That sounds waaaaaayyy more fun than tackling a pile of laundry!  HOWEVER… that is not how Organizing works.
 Here’s something to remember:  almost every organizing project requires at least some purging, some “letting go” of stuff.
The right organizing solution is almost never “Let’s bring more things into the space before we part with stuff!”
Instead:
  • Commit to the hard work, with a clear vision of how awesome your space will be when it’s organized!
  • Sort what you have.  Make decisions about what you want to keep and what needs to go away.  Actually bag up and get rid of the “go away” stuff.  Then figure out how to store what you have kept.  THEN you may want to shop.  However…
  • WAIT!! Get used to your newly organized space and stuff before you purchase something else!
  • Shop in your own stuff first – it’s very likely that you have what you need already.  As we organize, we may come across unused containers that we can re-purpose for our current project.   Or there are containers elsewhere in the house we can use.
  • Do your research, so you don’t end up contributing to your clutter.  Invest in good quality items, only as many as you need.  Keep receipts so that you can return items that don’t work in your space.
  • Do NOT buy new things that take up more space than the discarded items, or you will end up back in the same cluttered space you started in.
  • Look around your own space, or talk to friends and family before you spend the money!
  • If you like to shop, save the shopping as a perk for getting the hard work of sorting and purging done.
  • Keep a list of items you want to purchase or obtain.  Take the list with you when you shop, and stick with it!

 

So, let me be the little voice in your ear, your Jiminy Cricket encouraging you to do the right thing.   Do NOT shop first!  Do the hard work, then decide if you need to bring more stuff in to corral your stuff!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

Truth Bombs About Socks

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I worked with a new client this morning.  She is awesome.  All my clients are awesome. 

This client, whom I will refer to as Client (all names are changed to protect the innocent), and I worked on her tween daughter’s room.  Client sorted her daughter’s  clothes into “keep” and “donate” piles while I worked on the physical space in the room.

As is often the case, the topic of Socks came up. And I capitalized “Socks” because Socks are a big issue.  More specifically, the topic of the big pile / basket / bag of unmatched, unloved and slightly scary Socks came up.

Come on, you know the basket.  The one that lurks in shadows, ready to take on more cast offs, silently judging you and draining your mental energy day in and day out?  Yes, that one.

Let me share with you some truths that I shared with Client this morning:

  • Some of us judge ourselves far more harshly than we deserve.
  • Just because friends don’t talk about this on Facebook doesn’t mean that others aren’t fighting the same struggle. You are not alone. Lots of people have too many Socks (and other things).
  • MORE IMPORTANTLY,
    • Possession of all these Socks does not make you a bad, lazy or crazy person.
    • Possession of all these Socks causes negative self-talk as we choose yet again to go about our day of Family and Work and Volunteering and finally Bed (all very important things!!) instead of dealing with those cursed Socks (not nearly as important).
    • You are awesome, and the quality of your character is not determined by a basket of Socks.

And, for your peace of mind, if you want to conquer Sock Mountain, try these:

  • Wash the Socks.  Check under beds and couches, and wash them all.  One nasty soccer sock really can ruin the whole basket.
  • Once clean, collect them all.  Yes, All.  Check the sock drawers for rogue lone rangers.
  • Enlist Aid.  All of these Socks are not yours (probably). This project will go more quickly with more hands.
  • At least try.  Some clients have suggested chucking all the Socks and starting over, but this is terribly wasteful and we won’t learn anything from that strategy.
  • Change your location.  If the laundry room is not well lit or cheerful, move the basket to your bedroom or the kitchen counter, or somewhere else that will inspire and motivate you.
  • Line the unmatched Socks up by size and dominant color, to make matching them up easier.
  • Luckily, these days, especially in the world of tween girls, unmatched Socks are cool and fun!
  • Set a lower limit and an upper limit.  Many times a session with my clients, I will ask “How much is enough?” and “How many is too many?”  For example, set your Enough for 30 (or some other number) pairs. Pick your favorite 30 and pair them up.  Now you can look at little more critically at the leftovers.
  • Recognize that those Socks, at least some of them, ended up in the basket for a reason, and may no longer be needed and useful.
  • Set a timer.  We can do anything, even if we don’t like to, for a short period of time.  Watching a show? Great.  Grab the basket, dump it out, and get to it until the buzzer rings.  Then put away the matched Socks, and donate the rest.

So, be nice to yourself this week about your Socks and anything else, be honest with others, and spend a little time and tackle this common problem!

When Our Morning Doesn’t Start As Planned…

I slept late this morning.  I woke early, as usual, but with a raging headache, not usual.  So I opted to stay in bed instead of taking a walk. I got another hour of sleep but woke up discombobulated.

We all may oversleep, or run late, or wake to find out that our 9 am meeting has been moved to 8 am instead.  And suddenly we need to get out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Here are a couple of strategies to try:

Read this post quickly and then put down the phone.
Or step away from the tablet, computer or TV.  Seriously.  You’re in a rush, why in the world are you looking at your screens? There is not time for that today.  Put down the tech (and make sure it’s charging if needed) and get moving.

For next time…
Use your technology for the tool it is.  Set alarms on your tech to ensure you wake up on time. Make sure your tech is charging before you hit the pillow.  Find apps for morning meditation or motivation, and create play lists to improve your morning routine.

Focus on NEEDS, not WANTS.
Focus on Survival tasks, not maintenance or progress.  Clothing, food, hygiene, shelter, safety.
Do you usually work out, exfoliate, meditate or phone a friend?  Nope, not today. Your choices flew out the window with your wake-up time. Catch up later, if your schedule allows, but for now, focus on Needs.  You need a shower, clothing, food.  Focus on those, then see what time you have left before you need to leave.

More importantly, for next time:
Pare down your morning routine so whether you’re on time or not, or its a work day or weekend, you don’t waste time or steps.  Take care of your needs (and your kids’, if applicable) first, and then move on to maintenance or progress steps.  Shower first, get dressed and grab some breakfast, THEN start a load of laundry or check your email.

Rely on a Uniform.
For the mornings when you’re in a rush, reach for a tried-and-true favorite.  Save creativity for another day when you’re not in a rush.  We pay more attention to what we wear than anyone else does anyway (except for that one co-worker….), so reach for an ensemble that you know works.

For next time…
Establish a handful of go-to  outfits.  Professionally speaking, I have an informal uniform for client appointments and some dressier ensembles for meetings and presentations.  If time allows, I stretch the fashion boundaries, but if I’m in a hurry, I know what works.

A client referred to her summer wardrobe as “The Uniform”.  I thought she was referring to her profession, but she said “The Mom Uniform – neutral shorts or skorts, a v-neck t-shirt in a range of colors, cute sandals or sneaks… you know, the mom uniform”.  I inspected my own dresser drawers and I realized she was right.  Looking around at a soccer game a few days later, sure enough – mom uniforms.  I consider this a good thing. I have found clothes that work and are fun, are easy to pick out every day and pack for a trip.  Find that combination for yourself and run with it.

A few more tips:

  • Select a go-to group of accessories, too.  I have a dish on my desk with my watch, standard earrings and a few favorite bracelets.  Which leads me to:
  • Have just one place for your essentials (phone, keys, wallet, etc.), and make a habit around keeping them there.
  • Stock up on healthy and portable breakfasts.
  • Keep your gas tank filled, to keep your morning commute moving.  Make your own coffee, for the same reason.

Don’t make a habit of these rushed mornings, but if you find yourself in a hurry, give these strategies a try!

Organize Your Car This Week (a.k.a. What’s That Smell?)

This is not my car. But it looks nice, doesn’t it?

Mobile office, changing room, dining room, way-to-get-from-here-to-there, home away from home … our car.

My van ticked over 94,000 miles today.

I spend lots of time in my van.  For work and clients, sure, but also for life.  We do a lot of interstate traveling, and have no problem with a 3-hour drive for an overnight visit or lunch with the family.

With lots of time spent in our cars, they can get a little cluttered… and grubby… and… well, smelly.  Our family joke was that when we decided to buy our current van, my youngest said “Good, because this one smells like french fries”.  Old beverage containers, fast food wrappers, dirty laundry, sports equipment – Who knows what is rolling around back there?!

The first thing that people do when they see my “Professional Organizer” magnets on my van is peek in my windows to see if my car is organized (of course it is).  Our cars are an extension of our homes and of ourselves, which means we can reap benefits from organizing our car and travels.  Luckily, the process is the same, whether we ‘re organizing a kitchen or hard drive or pile of mail or car.

Here is what to do:

  • Take out all the stuff out of your car.  Throw away the obvious garbage.
  • While it’s cleaned out, take your car to the car wash and splurge on the interior cleaning and vacuum, too.
  • Now that it’s clean, Do NOT just put everything back in your car!  Take a good look at the stuff that came out!
  • Grab another garbage bag and a notebook.
  • Sort the pile into categories: Car maintenance (wipes, oil); Car repair (tools, jumper cables); Important car related papers (manual, registration and proof of insurance); safety / first aid (first aid kit, blanket, non perishable snacks, water bottles); personal convenience (umbrella, lint brush, hand wipes, car pillow); or perhaps work related items (I have my briefcase and step stool in my van all the time).
  • A note on safety: Whatever you choose to keep in your car needs to be strapped in.  Any time we slam on the brakes, stuff can shift or fly, becoming a dangerous projectile.  Strap it down and keep it safe!
  • Contain your categories together (for example, a tote in the trunk for tools?), and stow them safely in your car.
  • And, if you have 10 minutes or 2 days, check Pinterest for more “car organizing” ideas – wow!!!

What should not be in the car:

  • important papers, like your mail or pay stubs with personal info;
  • VISIBLE VALUABLES or MONEY!;
  • your car title and maintenance records (keep these safely at home);
  • dead electronics (old phone chargers, random mystery cords);
  • school papers / text books / other books;
  • items to drop off to others / returns / recycling – add the errands to your to-do list, and make an effort to get that stuff dropped off.

Your car is an extension of you and your home, give it some love, attention and organizing this week!

How High Are Your Eyes? (a.k.a. Where to keep the canned tuna?)

Last week, I unloaded boxes of nonperishable food into my new cabinets and helped some friends settle into their new home.

I was reminded of a rule of thumb for cabinet storage, and I want to share it with you.  Before I  get ahead of myself,  though, I need to tell you that I’m short.

For anyone reading this who knows me, this is not news.  In my above- average-height family, I am definitely the runt.  I blame / attribute this to my 5’1″ grandmothers.  But I digress.

Being short means that I make strategic decisions about how to utilize my cabinet space, maximizing the shelves I CAN reach.  When my kids were younger, I thought I was keeping our most used items low in the cabinets for their sake, but now I’m shortest in the house again, so it’s all about me.  🙂

If you would like to maximize your cabinet space, too:

Consider the lowest shelf of the upper cabinet your highly coveted beach-front property. Dedicate this prime real estate to the items that you use all the time every day.  When we were putting things away last week, my son asked if we could make more room on the bottom shelf for snacks and things (the every day items for him) – brilliant!  To make room on the bottom shelf, I put the canned tuna (used much less often, and only by me) up a shelf or two.

Move up from there.  If you have three shelves, use the “every day (1st shelf) / every week (2nd) / every month (3rd)” guide to help you make decisions.  We now have 4 shelves – yes our cabinets now go all the way to the ceiling and I am giddy about this! – so we may use the use the “every day (1st shelf) / every week (2nd) / every month (3rd) / every year (4th)” to make our decisions about where to store our items.

As my very organized friend put away her dishes in her new kitchen last week, she knew to put the special occasion dishes on the highest shelf, and keep the everyday dishes at eye level.  It is so obvious in that context, and we can use that lesson in every cabinet.  Even if you are not short like me, grouping your cabinet items, whether food or dishes, around how often you use them may help you access and maintain your stuff more readily.

A final tip, when you store items on your upper shelves, contain small items in baskets or bins so they don’t get lost in the back of the cabinet.   For example, think water bottles and lids and straws, or seasonal baking items like small bottles of extract or sprinkles.

Look at your kitchen with new eyes, keeping your most used items at eye level and moving onward and upward from there!

Summer’s “New Normal”

What is your “Normal”?   And, did your Normal choose you, or did you choose it? My wise, wonderful accountability partner asked me last week “What’s Your New Normal for Summer”?

You see, she knows that summers are typically a struggle for me.  I’m thrown off by the very things I should be enjoying about summer: changes to my typical routines; alternate summer work and activity schedules for my kids;  motivation and focus leaking out the window with the sunshine and summer breeze; sporadic days or weekends away; and the list goes on and on.

Do you struggle with any of these, too?

In addition, lately it feels like my new “Normal” has chosen me, and I don’t particularly like it.  So it’s time for me to choose my even newer New Normal for myself!

Summer is a great time to rethink your “Normal”.  It’s time to be decisive and purposeful about how you will spend the next few months.  Relaxing with family?  Trying new adventures? Acquiring new skills or habits?  Just chilling out?  You choose!

  • Start with what you know.   Upon reflection this morning, I realized that while some of my details have changed summer’s arrival, a lot of my new normal is remarkably like my old normal.  I still get up at 5 and exercise, have some quiet time before heading out to work.  I will still work and travel and take care of business.  So, really, the new normal involves the shift of my daily schedule and the need for better communication, both of which are complete manageable.

  • Put everything on the calendar  – EVERYTHING!  And let the involved parties (family, friends, coworkers, etc.) in on the schedule.  For example, my 12 year old and I sat down yesterday, reviewed his band camp and scout camp schedule, and made sure he had all of his info in his calendar so there are no surprises later!

  • Take advantage of this opportunity to make changes to your Normal.  Make it on YOUR terms.  What do you want to do with your summer?  Projects, goals, new habits, old habits, things to learn?

  • Pare it Down. A friend and I were discussing the idea of pruning – cutting away non-producing parts of a plant to make the remaining parts more productive.  As I lingered over my second cup of coffee this morning instead of rushing off to drop someone at school, I appreciated my more simplified summer schedule. What else can we do to simplify our responsibilities and routines?

  • Relax and enjoy.  I’ve had cranky thoughts, with the transition to summer and still navigating the chaos of a kitchen remodel. But as I watered my garden and enjoyed the beautiful new day, I reminded myself to appreciate all the parts – the good parts and the challenging ones –  of this time of transition.

So, this week, I challenge you to spend a little time crafting your own “New Normal” for summer. Be intentional, simplify and enjoy!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

Let’s Talk Expiration Dates.

Let’s talk expiration dates.

A friend and I chatted at a recent rainy soccer game.   She had stayed up until 2 am the night before organizing her pantry.  Most of her time was spent checking expiration dates and tossing expired food.

We discussed how frustrating it is when we review our cabinets and pantry, and have to purge expired food.  It feels wasteful and lazy.

HOWEVER, getting down on ourselves about how we got to this point is neither useful nor productive.  It’s better to learn from the experience (see the process below), and change our behaviors from here (stick with the article until the end).

A few months ago, I wrote about National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day (November, Click HERE).  So let’s declare this week Clean Out Your Food Cabinet Week, what do you say?

Here’s How:
  1. Grab a garbage can, a notebook and a couple of boxes or paper bags.  Take a deep breath and begin.
  2. Clear off a counter for work space, near your food cabinets.
  3.  Choose a cabinet. JUST ONE.  Starting at the top, take everything out and put it on the counter. Then wipe down the shelf.
  4. Now, check every item. Yes, EVERY ITEM.  Even the stuff you bought recently.  It could be the newest, but still out of date. I was surprised to find my recently purchased canned beets were already expired.
  5. If the item is past its’ expiration date, toss it.  I understand, that is the hard part.  Yes, I know, it’s wasteful.  And yes, I know, you spent good money on that.  HOWEVER, the potential for food poisoning is much more important than a $3 can of tuna.
  6. If the item is open, but not past the expiration date, still check it for freshness.  Foods like breakfast cereal or crackers get stale if open too long in the cabinet.
  7. If the item is not expired, but you don’t think you will use it, label one of those boxes or bags as “donate to food pantry”, or “send to preschool”, or “give to friend/family” and start a pile of items to leave your kitchen to go and grace someone else’s.
  8. Review everything, then place the keep items back in the cabinet.
  9. If you have time to tackle another cabinet – JUST ONE – go ahead.  But DO NOT take apart more than on at a time!  Otherwise….
  10. Take out the trash, and drop off the donations / items to share. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  Repeat.
Once you’ve cleaned out the cabinet and pantry, it’s time to consume differently.
  • Use a list.  Post it on the refrigerator, and add items as you run out of them.
  • If you have to shop, buy only what you need for this week.
  • Stock your food like a store.  Pull the oldest items to the front, and add new inventory to the back.
  • Take advantage of sale items and stock up, but make sure to add those surplus items to your menu plan so that you use them up.
  • Plan to do this a couple times a year!
To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
www.Facebook.com/MColleenKlimczakCPO
Via Twitter, @ColleenCPO

When Reality Meets the To-Do List: It’s Time To Act!

Last week, I found myself on the phone actually agreeing to a Demolition Date for my kitchen.  

Demo Date.  That’s what it is called.

I arranged for a team of people to come in and disassemble our kitchen as we know it, so it can be reassembled with hardwood floors, new cabinets and appliances, paint and lighting.

I’m very excited about these improvements.  And terrified.  And just a wee bit overwhelmed (especially considering that now the demo date is now just hours away).

In conversation with a friend over the weekend, she mentioned that Saturday was the day “Reality meets the list”.  For a week, she had jotted down ideas, planned, imagined, strategized, categorized, prioritized, etc., but now it was time for action.

As I packed up the kitchen this afternoon, my Reality Met My List, too.  No more planning and lists and thinking.  Now it was time to open the cabinets and finish putting things in boxes and baskets for the next few weeks.

So, if you are working on projects, whether at home or at work, professionally or personally, there comes a moment when we need to implement our plan.  Commit.  Execute.  DO!

Don’t Act Too Early.  
I found myself saying “I leaped before I looked” to my son when I asked him to help me move something while my arms were full of stuff.  So, Act, but don’t Act Too Soon!

On the Other Hand…

Don’t Think Too Long.
Have you heard the term “The Paralysis of Analysis”?  We can overthink something for so long that opportunities pass or situations change before we ever get to act or travel or grow.  My Dad says “Do SOMETHING, even if it’s wrong!”.  I wouldn’t want to be wrong, but the point is to DO something.

See the paint shown to the right?  I want a dark color for the kitchen walls, but I’m a little nervous. So the best way to figure out if we will like it was to buy a sample and paint the wall.  I can wonder all I want, but to make a decision and make progress, we needed ACTION (and I like it!)!

Be Reasonable.
My to-list contains EVERYTHING I need to do, and sometimes I just use it as a dumping place for my ideas and tasks, which means the list for any given day can be ridiculously long and unrealistic.  Putting 28 hours worth of work or tasks on the list for a 24 hour period is dooming myself to failure.

Make the list, but also look at your day and week and month, and determine what you can reasonably get done.

Just Do It. Implementation is Key.
We can plan and discuss and research a topic until we are blue in the face, but without action, it remains just a topic.

And now… I need to go and pack!

To:

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Call / text 708.790.1940
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