What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. Gretchen Rubin This quote was part of Chris Guillebeau’s newsletter about Life’s Priorities (a “must read!”) and is very relevant to anyone who is struggling with clutter and disorganization. If you want to finally get your home or office decluttered, you […]
Time management: See where your time is going
Many people object to using a planner because they believe that it prohibits spontaneity and creativity. In reality, the very opposite is true. Not using a planner to see where our time goes may be keeping us from accomplishing the things we would really like to be doing. However, first we must see what is […]
What I learned about decluttering from trying to grow grapes
First, a little background: My husband and I purchased 12 acres in the Pacific Northwest in 2005. The property was largely undeveloped. Half of the land is wild and beautiful forest with cedars, alders and a variety of fir trees. The other half had been a llama ranch at some point. Some fencing remained around […]
Friday funny: ‘Unitaskers’ – single-purpose gadgets that usually end up as clutter
This post falls under the “I wish I’d thought of doing this” category… The Unclutterer, which describes itself as “the website for home and office organization,” has a weekly segment called “Unitasker Wednesday.” The disclaimer before each post reads, “All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we […]
21 misconceptions about being organized
There are a number of reasons why people resist the idea of becoming organized. But like any stereotypes, their rationale tends to be based in misconceptions:
Step one to declutter your home: Stop the inflow
You don’t have to be a depression era survivor to squirrel away bits of string (no matter how short), bent nails (they can be tapped straight – more or less) and the odd pot lid (you never know when it will come in handy!). However, one of the first steps to take toward decluttering is […]
Four steps to finding time to accomplish your “to-do” list using a planning calendar
One of the harder lessons I’ve had to learn as a disorganized person was how to use a planning calendar effectively. I LOVE planners, but I didn’t have very many “real” appointments, so most of the pages stayed blank year after year – and I constantly felt behind on things.
Are you SURE you are getting your most important things done?
My friend and colleague Jason Womack, who wrote the best-selling Your Best Just Got Better, often talks about “MITs” – Most Important Things. Jason works primarily with corporations, so those of us who work from home, either as solopreneurs or full-time parents, tend to dismiss his expertise. The simple fact is that anybody who wants […]
Additional professional resources to help with decluttering
Yesterday we published ‘Is it clutter? 7 points to consider when evaluating your stuff.‘ We have further recommendations of tools available from colleagues: Hazel Thornton, founder of Organized For Life is a professional organizer in New Mexico with a background in both Engineering and Fine Arts. Her blog post titled ‘Is it Clutter?‘ helps answer additional […]
Is it clutter? 7 points to consider when evaluating your stuff.
The most difficult part of decluttering is trying to decide if a particular item IS, in fact, clutter! Our analysis of objects tends to be vague as we think, “Someone might be able to somehow use this someday.” Instead, get specific. When you come across an item about which you are uncertain, answer the following to […]