Think of your life as a book.
Each chapter of your life has a different primary focus.

You've had a pretty significant event or change in your life … or two or three in a row.

You're ready to move onto life's next chapter now.

organizenh blog for the next chapter of your lifeBut you feel as if your home or home office-- well, they just don't reflect who you are anymore. Neither does how you spend your time.

You're ready to create your next chapter and this blog is for you.

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What does your next chapter hold for you and what does that mean about your home, your office, your schedule? What does "organized enough" mean to you now?

You're writing your next chapter because

  • your children are out on their own.
  • you're finally starting that new business you've had in mind…
  • or it's growing so fast it's hard to keep up.
  • maybe just discovered you have ADD, or some other brain-based challenged. It's a relief to finally know, but now what?
  • you're suddenly single – widowed, separated, divorced.
  • you're downsizing or simply want less stuff around you and less on your calendar. Life's too short.

As you move through this chapter of your life, your mindset is shifting.

You're thinking differently about your things, your surroundings, and how you use your time.

My Story – Life’s Transitions

March 6th, 2010

Life is full of transitions—expected and unexpected, self-imposed and imposed by others.

I never expected to own my own business.

I never expected to get separated and divorced.

I didn’t know I’d be living back at home for while in my early 40’s (but thank goodness for Mom and Dad).

Changing religions? Nope, also unexpected.

Let’s toss in a move to a different state…

becoming a motor home owner (before that, I would’ve said, “What’s a motor home?”)…

and a significant change at work where I went from working with clients to working on the product side.

Then eventually there was a major shift from corporate to self-employment.

I also became a first-time dog owner—three dogs at once, for the first time in my life—all in my early 40’s. (I grew up with fish and turtles, just to give you a sense of my pet owner skills.) I could go on.

There were nine major changes in my life in about 18 months. And I bet I’ve forgotten something along the way!

Transitions add the twists and turns in this journey of life. It’s the journey that counts, right? Hard to remember that as you’re in limbo for so long.

But it’s a transition. It’s going to last for awhile; it’s not an event, a point in time change. In fact, when people call me, they’ve usually been through several pretty big life transitions over a period of many months, a couple of years, sometimes longer. Sometimes we coach; sometimes we work, hands-on. Decide what you need.

It takes awhile to absorb all this change. So cut yourself some slack, please please please.  Focus on you, your self-care. Work on making your home your own, as you move into the next chapter of your life. Focus on your surroundings, and the stress will decline. You’ll have control over your home — which might be the only thing you have a modicum of control over for awhile. So make your home a place you want to go to home to and not turn away from.When our surroundings are in alignment with what’s important to us , we’re in alignment mentally, too. When our home is organized and we have systems, we spend our time on the important things in life, not on major room pickups time after time.

Transitions are tough to go through, certainly. But once on the other side of the transition, given time, we’ll feel like we’ve conquered something truly significant.

And if we can do that, what else can we do?

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Your Own Space — Space 4 U

March 5th, 2010

Fascinating conversation yesterday, with five women, age ranges (guessing here) from mid 30’s to early 50’s. On this topic, we all felt the same way — about our own space in our homes, or lack thereof. We were talking about the popularity of “man caves” and the super duper playrooms for the children of the family. “And what about us,” was the question. Why don’t we ever think about having our own — I don’t know what we’d call it — our own space.

Sometimes we hear these comments from women we know:

“Well, I have the rest of the house.”

“I have my gourmet kitchen.”

“I have an inspiring home office.”

Think about your own home. Where’s that place, that room, that chair, that nook or cranny where you escape to? You want to or sometimes you need to.

You want to be alone, in silence to reflect or meditate, do your yoga or read with no interruptions, no requests, no email and no phone.

Or you want to have friends over, female friends, for wine or scrap booking, listening to music, or discussing grandchildren or downsizing or whatever you want.

Self-care: Aren’t we at our best for ourselves and for others when we’re rejuvenated and refreshed? When we have spot in our own home — not a gym we have to drive to, or a library to escape to?

Where is your hiding place?

Where is your hiding place?

Where’s that place you get to sloooow down your life? Put on the brakes for awhile. Get back to your “me zone.” Remember who you are and what you’re about? What’s important to you? Needs, values, priorities. Creativity, fun, passions, hobbies.

Open the window of your space and hear the birds chirping. Or look around your imaginary space and what colors do you see? What kind of energy are you feeling in the room?

Where are you sitting? What style of furniture appeals to you, in this “me” space. Doesn’t have to be child, grandchild or dog friendly furniture. The colors you know are for you and your soul.

What are you doing in this space? Quilting, reading, meditation, yoga, dancing, sitting still, playing a musical instrument, or journalling. What do you long to do you haven’t done in oh, so long.  Get back to the passions and create the space for it.

First step is creating your vision … next step is finding the space at home. Stay tuned for ideas.

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Ideas for Organizing (Some of) Your Photos

March 3rd, 2010
Lupines, Mt Washington Rail Trip

Lupines, Mt Washington Rail Trip

A friend mentioned she was going through her photos and it’s been a walk down memory lane… but also a rough road at times. She’s a creative, renaissance type of woman, actually writing her memoir. If I know her, this will be a combination of writing, paintings, sketches, photos and more. I can’t wait. She mentioned going through photos and looking for ideas to organize them, so today, she is my inspiration for sharing photo organizing ideas with you.

If you have kept years worth of paper (and now digital) photos, it’s a big deal to finally sit down and start perusing your memories. It’s also a big deal to sit yourself down if these photos are not just yours, but are inherited from your parents. While it’s a wonder to walk through our memories, it’s also emotional and I want you to be prepared for that. You’ll find photos of people who are no longer on this Earth with us — and  you’ll grieve, again, for your loss.  You’ll find vacation photos of fun times you might think of returning to. Children when they were younger are a joy, as is the growth you can see through the years.

If faced with many photos, or what feels like “many” to you, I’d first ask you to decide, as my friend has, what you want to DO with your photos? Who do you want to share the best ones with? Deciding on a fun project or goal is the first step to tackling those bins, boxes, bags – wherever they are. This will give you focus as you wander down memory lane.

Some ideas –

Have grandchildren? What about mom or dad’s history in an album? Or grandma/grampa’ s history. Share your photos and your stories. Check your local bookstore; there are hard bound books which will take you and your grandchild through an “interview” about your life. Add your words and add your photos.

Someone getting married in the family? How about creating a life history for the groom/bride?

Someone graduating high school/college? One woman created an album for her son’s graduation gift of his athletics during school.

At my 50th birthday, mom and dad presented me with a photo album, all about me! My life history, in photos, with some wonderful captions. I was also given the baby book my mom kept up during my early years.

50th birthday cakePaper photo collage for a big anniversary (50th coming up for anyone?), or an important birthday. What a great way to get to know someone!

Vacations/travels: Some people create a photo album (paper or digital) for each vacation. I took a trip to the Panama Canal last year and took hundreds of photos. A new camera, so many experimental photos (easy to delete later on, once I’d learned. Same idea as with print photos that don’t turn out; easy to get rid of.) At home, I chose the best 25 and printed those for an album, so I could share with friends. I chose 50 or 75 and put onto the digital picture frame that’s in the living room. How fun it is, during winter months, to see the beautiful waters of the warmer climates! Or to see the ship the day we went through the locks. Keeps memories alive.

Sue touches the walls of the Canal

Sue touches the walls of the Canal

Create a collage of your vacation – which allows you to pick and choose your favorites. The major drugstore chains have all kinds of neat gifts you can put the photo collage on, which can get you thinking, too, if you’re not quite sure what to do with photos. You don’t have to develop the photos at that store; you can upload your own. Create your photo collage, you mug of photos from your Nova Scotia trip, your mouse pad — all great gift ideas, and they help you focus on favorite photos.

Photos or slides: Scan the ones you want to share. The next generations are all digital, so scanning won’t be a waste of time at all. Easier to share across the country. On the Panama Canal trip, we bought a wonderful service/product. We took a package of ship photos of us and of the islands we visited. We uploaded our own favorites. Together, these made up a digital and a printed bound book we could share, in person, on Face book or via email. There are other services; this was helpful since it was the cruise line we’d been on. Or here’s Snapfish.com, one service to start with to familiarize yourself with your options.

Inherent in these ideas is that you’re not organizing or using all of your photos. You’re focusing on one project at a time; after all, at some point, if you have a lot of photos, you’ll want to get back to your family, your business, your gardening or whatever brings you joy.

Organizing the photos you’re not using right now for this project:

  • Use archival supplies for inherited, older items. My colleage, Melissa Manon, of Archives Info, has a preservation kit to check out first, with some fascinating articles about preserving family history.
  • Do a quick sort, to make it easier later on to find what you need. Examples of a “quick sort” would be: by event, vacation, years, child or family. This is to help later on, when you know what your next project will be. A quick sort is dealing out the photos like cards into separate boxes — which for temporary storage, can be boxes from Target, the Christmas Tree Shop, or if you’re an online purchaser, the Container Store.  Label your boxes by the quick sort groups you’ve decide on.
  • Ask family what they want you to hold onto (or give them a gift of at a holiday or birthday!). When you ask, it does two things for you: gives you focus; gives you permission to let go of photos you thought someone might want, but you’ve found out they don’t!

So enjoy your trip down memory lane. Stay on the path you want to be on, and you’ll have a wonderful time.

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Part 2: Letting Go Questions (You may not have tried before today.)

February 17th, 2010

“We cannot measure abundance by what we accumulate. Abundance is an experience of the heart, a wind that blows through us like a flute.  Our treasures are in the eye, the ear, and in the heart, that feels the wonder of things. ”

– Wayne Muller, Legacy of the Heart.

Let go without letting go.  “No regrets” decisions.

Phrases I use often enough but how do we do this?

Shout out

Below, I share with you the second half of the 10 questions to ask yourself, 10 you may not have thought of before today. First half are found here. I thought 10 was a lot to absorb in one blog posting so I split them up.

They can be applied to any culling out/weeding out/simplifying you’re doing — whether it’s papers, collectibles, books, clothing or ___________.

Fill in the blank for what you’re struggling with.

My Letting Go questions (questions 6-10):

#6 Who in the family would LOVE this as I have in the past? You loved it once … but maybe it’s not a favorite anymore.  Be honest. Who else could love it as you have? Or can you make something new out of it (your wedding dress >>a christening gown for a new family member?)

#7 Think REDUCE. We think we have to “get rid of everything.” That’s because we are worried we’ll get rid of something we really wanted. Keep the “really want’s.”  But take a photo of you with your collection of 30 collectible status and find some loving homes for some of them. Not all. Just some.

#8 Pick a magic number. Keep 15 shoes per season. Or 2 magazine subscriptions a month. 20 kitchen glasses. Two file drawers for business papers you use often. Or on your calendar: no more than 2  new presentations a month.

#9 The friends approach, developed by Judith Kolberg. About each item, ask yourself: is this a lifetime friend? A seasonal friend (in your life for a purpose, then leaves)? Or an acquaintance friend (not well known, short term).

#10 Say “goodbye” out loud. Whether you’re reorganizing with someone else or working on  your own, go ahead and say it out loud. Tell your story one last time. BUT if by telling your story, you realize this is a lifetime friend/favorite treasure, please reconsider whether you really want to let it go.

Letting go is about knowing your favorites, your priorities in life, your treasures and keeping them. It’s about moving on, keeping the best of the past and bringing it with you into your next chapter. Hopefully some of these questions will help you with that.

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Let Go without Letting Go: 10 Questions You May Not Have Asked Yet

February 16th, 2010

“We cannot measure abundance by what we accumulate. Abundance is an experience of the heart, a wind that blows through us like a flute.  Our treasures are in the eye, the ear, and in the heart, that feels the wonder of things. ”

– Wayne Muller, Legacy of the Heart.

Let go without letting go.  “No regrets” decisions.

Phrases I use often enough but how do we do this?

Shout outBelow, I share with you the first five of my top 10 questions  — ones you may not have thought of before today.


My Letting Go questions:

#1  What is it you want more time for?

What is important in this chapter of your life.

If I had less stuff to deal with, I’d have more time for ____________________.

I want to be a better role model for ___________.

I want time for me, to _________________.

#2  What does “organized enough” mean to you? Look like to you? Feel like?

Go to the area you’re thinking about working on and ask this question, then sit with it for 5 minutes. Close your eyes if that helps.

Go one level deeper. “I want to find things more easily SO THAT I can …” What does organized enough mean to you? It’s not so that your home can look like someone else’s, or how it “should” be. What do you want?

#3 If I walked into your home or home office today, what would I know about you by looking around?

Or any stranger, new friend, new relative, or new colleague. Is this an accurate picture of who you are?

What needs to leave the premises, so we to accurately describe who you are (today)?

#4  As you walk around, what things do not have a home yet? Do they need a home? Or are they taking up precious space?

What other things are hiding in the homes you want to give these important things? Which group could you reduce, or let go of? Reduce, not eliminate. A favorite phrase.

#5 Choose a donation location before you begin, not at the end of your project.

As you decide you’ll be working on clearing out your clothes closet for example, decide who might enjoy the clothes you’ll give away? A friend who has always admired your clothing? A family transition home? People re-entering the workforce?

Deciding on a donation place first makes it easier to let go — because you can conjure up a picture of how much they’ll enjoy what you’re giving away. Or, go to the donation place. Meet the group you’re donating to.

Letting go is about knowing your favorites, your priorities in life, your treasures …..and keeping them.

It’s about moving on, keeping the best of the past and bringing it with you into your next chapter.  Hopefully some of these questions will help you with that.

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