Clearing out the "mental cobwebs"

After IM'ing a friend today on Facebook, I had one of Oprah's "Ah Ha Moments". Sometimes our biggest stumbling block to getting organized is our thoughts. Can I get organized? Will I stick to it? I'll never get this task done! And so on & so forth. What I am proposing today is to take time for yourself to clear out those "mental cobwebs" that prevent you from tackling projects, etc. Some suggestions include taking a walk on a sunny day, spending time with friends, journaling, getting a manicure, listening to some good music, exploring a new restaurant. We must first take care of ourselves on an emotional level & then be kind & gentle to ourselves as we make progress. The first step is to set a goal. The second is to develop smaller steps to keep on track & keep motivated. Third, begin the first task and reward yourself after you complete it. And fourth, set a plan to start the next task. With anything in life, it is important to stay motivated, encouraged and heading in the direction of your (organizational) dreams. Remember, YOU can DO it!

Declutter your wallet

I recently got pulled over for making an illegal U-turn (whoops!) and discovered that my insurance card was out-of-date. Thankfully, the police officer was very nice and only gave me a warning. Since this happened, I decided that it was high-time to declutter my wallet. This is the perfect 10-15 minute goal to tackle and here's what I recommend.

(1) Take out all your receipts, lose coupons, etc and put them in 1-3 piles

(2) Go thru the coupon pile and weed out any coupons that are no longer valid

(3) Go thru the receipt pile and attach them to your bank statement for future reconciliation purposes

(4) Take out any unused store/credit cards to free up space & lighten your load

(5) Take out money and sort from largest to smallest bills

(6) Take out loose change and put in a piggy bank or put in jar to take to the bank or CoinStar machine

Doing this simple task will cut down on unnecessary clutter and help you to retain only current information. While you're at it, check your driver's license to see when it needs to be renewed. That reminds me, I have to put that on my To Do list too!

After you complete this task, reward yourself!

Happy Decluttering!

Spring has sprung!

Greetings fellow organizers. Now that Spring has sprung, it's time to start those spring cleaning projects. One project that I'm getting ready to tackle is laundering my curtains. To help me stay on track, I break the project down into three parts:

(1) Take down curtains throughout apartment & separate them into 2-3 loads(per room)

(2) Wash with mild soap, in cold water, on the gentle cycle

(3) Hang to dry

This whole process takes about 3 hrs, but when I'm all done, I have clean curtains and a renewed sense of fulfillment.

Spring into action & reap the rewards!