Learning

Clutter and Your Brain

I recently came across an article I saved from 2013 about clutter and how it affects your brain.  I have most certainly written about this topic before but some of the research cited by the author of the piece, Mikael Cho, is quite fascinating. He discovered, as I and many of my clients have, that reducing … Read more

Why is stuff on the floor?

I’m wondering…if I was to take a peek in your garage, basement, storage room, or even your closets, would I see stuff strewn all over the floor?  I’m willing to bet in many cases I would.  It’s like the stuff exploded and then grew as it lay there seemingly without you doing anything.  I know, it’s kinda freaky. Well, … Read more

Are You Wasting Time on the Latest Tool?

I don’t know about you, but the more I learn about technology and tools for organizing and productivity, the more confused I become. Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting time on the latest tool. Do you have a tendency to download the newest one, try it for a few days, and then give up? I’m sure I … Read more

Can You Take a Break from Holiday Traditions?

In the last newsletter we wrote about getting back into routines.  This month, as I think ahead to the Holiday season, I am going to ask you to consider breaking from routines or traditions. Don’t get me wrong, if you have traditions that you truly enjoy, please stick to them. What I want you to ask … Read more

Simplifying Thanksgiving

It seems like suddenly it’s October and time to tackle Thanksgiving.  I know, the expression “time flies” is such a cliché, but sometimes it seems like to really does fly.  For some of us holidays can be quite overwhelming, especially when we’re already so busy with everyday life events and a busy job or home schedule.  One … Read more

Influencing Your Happiness

I came across a blog post recently that was all about how we sabotage our own happiness.  For instance, something that makes me happy right now is that it’s summer. Yippee!  I know one thing right off the bat that might sabotage that happiness – a complaint that it’s too hot.  I implore you, don’t do it. Enjoy the … Read more

Magical Organizing

I read the first of two books written by Japanese organizer Marie Kondo. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  A few of my clients have read it, and many of their friends have been talking about it. People everywhere are asking themselves if their clothes “spark joy” as she suggests. I think it must be the … Read more

Tuning into to Your Zen Brain

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius Have you ever wished for a more Zen brain? Is your brain constantly thinking about what you should be doing next or what you haven’t done?  Do you find yourself making a mental list only to forget it later in the day?  The … Read more

Organizing Disagreements

Have you ever had disagreements with your partner about the level of organization (or lack thereof) in your household?  I’m guessing you have.  We all have different expectations for how tidy our home should be. These expectations can be a result of the environment in which we were raised – was it cluttered or tidy? And a result … Read more

Clutter Blindness

“Look at old problems in a new light.”  –unknown Do you suffer from “clutter blindness”? When you put something down to remind you to do something, do you eventually start to walk past it and not notice it anymore? Do you have piles of magazines in your office that are reminding you that you have reading to … Read more

Turns out . . . it’s not just about the stuff!

“You can never get enough of what you don’t really need . . .” ~ Eric Hoffer A few years ago, I travelled to California where I spent 3 days in Palm Springs fueling my obsession with mid-century modern design, and the following 3 days attending my first National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) conference … Read more

To Take Vacation or Not To Take Vacation? – Jane Veldhoven

You guessed it, my struggle during this time of year is what to do about vacation.  Somehow, in the old days, when I worked for someone else it was so much easier – I had no choice.  However, now that I own my own business I do have a choice.  One would think that the freedom of being able to take time off whenever you want would be an amazing thing.  However, as many of you small business owners out there know, taking vacation is filled with feelings of guilt instead. 

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Tasks Expand to Fill Time – Jane Veldhoven

Summer is finally here and I’m getting really tired of working 7 days a week.  It’s so easy to get sucked into doing that especially when you run your own business. If I continue to do it summer will be over and I’ll have missed it. So, I’ve made a commitment to try to stop working on the weekends at least until the fall. Now, I have to figure out how to do that. 

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Too much ‘stuff’

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, to say the least.  I have helped two clients move in a two-week period and I have to say that I feel like I have been run over by a very large truck! Moving, as we all know, is one of those major life events.  Major life events … Read more

Can You Live a Good Enough Life?

I am fascinated by how the concept of ‘good enough’ relates to being organized and our many attempts to be what we perceive as ‘well organized’.  What does being organized mean to you?  Most likely not the same as it does to your spouse, your best friend or your children.  What if, instead of constantly striving to be more organized, better organized or even, heaven forbid, perfectly organized we strove for

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