10 Ways to Simplify Your Life

My job, as an organizer and a life coach, is to help people simplify and de-clutter physically, mentally and spiritually.  Here are some of the consistent messages I give to my clients.

1.  Buy purposefully.

2.  Shop at home first.

3.  Be willing to let go.

4.  Do what you already know to do.

5.  Just say no.

6.  Be happy with enough

7.  Collect moments not things. 

8.  Surround yourself with what you love and value.

9.  Do the next step

10. Do a little at a time and after a while little by little a little becomes a lot. 

You Always Have Time.....

When we look at our daily life. the quote, in the photo above, says a lot and can strike a chord in many of us, 

Can you list the things that you say you don't have time to do?  

Exercising
Eating Right
Spending time with our friends, family or spouse
Getting organized

I am not judging or condemning anyone because I am just as guilty.  To find time, for the most important "things" in our life, we have to look honestly at our schedule and see what things we are saying YES to that is causing us to say NO to something else.  The things we are saying YES to may be very noble things, may be good causes, and you may feel like the whole thing will fall apart if you are not a part of it.  However, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should be.  

What I do know about this concept is:  if your health fails - from lack of exercising or not eating right - all of a sudden you find time to deal with it.    If your relationships fail - from lack of attention - all of a sudden you find time for the people in your life.  If crisis mode hits - from lack of organization - all of a sudden you find time to try and get organized.  

What don't you have time for that you know is important?  Are you able to take some hard looks at your schedule and make some hard choices?  If not, eventually, life will do it for you.  

Bad Habits

I am trying to change a "bad" habit.  On the surface it doesn't look like a bad habit but that is the way it is playing out in my day.  

The habit I am trying to break is getting up in the morning, immediately looking at my phone and checking e-mail, Facebook, Words with Friends and Twitter.  My rationale for doing this is that I will get it out of the way and then I can focus on the things I need to do.  I had read that looking at these things, first thing, was not a good idea.  I had seen the studies about it, I had heard testimonials about it, I had heard all the rationales for not looking at these things as soon as I woke up.  Of course, I thought - I am different; this is what works best for me.  Well, guess what?  I'm not different.  Everything I read, heard and saw was exactly right. Looking at email, Facebook, WWF and Twitter upon waking is a time sucker not a time saver. The other day I realized I was cutting my exercise short or totally out because I didn't have enough time.  I realized I was cutting my quiet time short or totally out because I didn't have time.  The things that are essential for my health and well-being were being cut short or totally eliminated because of the time I was spending looking at all my "stuff" online.  

Today is the beginning of change.  Today I had to intentionally not look at my phone.  I had to intentionally get out of the bed, put on my walking clothes and go for my walk.  I had to intentionally not look at my computer or phone until I had a few moments of quiet devotional and prayer.   I could feel the pull of the phone and the computer.  I could feel myself wanting to just go take a quick peek to see if so and so had returned my email, see what had happened on Facebook, see what Twitter had to say and see if my opponent had seen the mega point word I had scored on WWF.  I knew what I could be doing but I chose to do what I should be doing.  

This is a recurrent theme in my organizing and life coaching.  I am constantly trying to help people do what they should be doing instead of what they could and have been doing.  I am helping people think what they should be thinking instead of what they could and have been thinking.  New thoughts, new habits.......all add up to a better and more purposeful life. 

Now that I'm through with my walk, my quiet time and now my blog post, guess what  I'm going to do now?

The De-Clutter Process

De-cluttering can be such a freeing process.  For many people, though, it feels like it is an overwhelming, unattainable goal.  I believe that de-cluttering is essential for living the best life you can live.  

                                           (photo courtesy of Bill Longshaw/freedigitalphotos.net)

Take this room, for example.  This is not any one of my client's rooms as I don't take photos of any of my client's rooms.  This was a stock photo off the Internet but I am using it to prove a point.  How can someone live their best life in the midst of chaos?  How can a child enjoy all they have been given if they can't even get to half of it?  How can you feel like your world is not closing in on you every time you step into that room?  

So, how would I attack a room like this?  A little bit at a time.  I would first go through and see if there is any trash...........yes, trash........you'd be surprised.  Then I would begin to take one thing at a time and decide what to do with it OR I would begin to divide the items into categories.  You could have a category of cars, games, blocks, clothes, art supplies, etc.  Then once it is divided into categories, I would only put a small fraction of the stuff back in the room limiting  the number of items in the child's room. 

The same goes for any adult room.  Take one thing at a time, whether it be a shelf, a drawer, a corner, or the top of the dresser. Divide the items you find into categories and then make good, sound, sometimes hard decisions about whether it is adding value to your life and just like the child, limit how many items you get to "play" with or surround yourself with. 

There are two main things that are hard about the de-clutter process - letting go and pressing on, even when you don't feel like it.  Getting through those two things will open a world of possibilities, allowing you to think about life instead of stuff!  

A Tanzanian Proverb says it best - Little by little a little becomes a lot.  Now go get going, little by little.  

Confessions of an Organizer - Messy Rooms

This post deals with a time in my life from a couple of years ago. 

Enjoy the confessions of this organizer. 

Well, here it is......the truth. Not all organizers are always organized. Many people tell me they would be embarrassed to let me in their homes. They think that my house is constantly organized and put together. I decided it is time for the truth. I decided it was time for me to let my ugly secret out.......my house can sometimes be a mess, too! Here are some pictures of two of my rooms. Now, in my defense, these rooms really got like this in October, November and December. In these rooms are the signs of a busy time, good for me, bad for the rooms.

Let me also say, sadly, these rooms were not staged, this is really what they looked like - really!

 In September, I held a shoes, clothes and purse sale.  I had over 200 pairs of shoes, 60-70 purses and other items that I was selling for my clients, .  In October I had to get ready to go to a festival to sell some products I was promoting.   In November and December, along with working during the week in my de-clutter business, I worked, on the weekends at a kiosk we had in a mall that was located out of town.   All of this goes with trying to keep up with some semblance of house cleaning, washing clothes, cooking, and trying to be a good wife, mother, friend and oh, yeah, Christmas decorating and Christmas shopping.   So, here is the result;  too many things being thrown into two rooms and neglected, for a period of time.  

So, what did this respectable organizer do when the new year hit?  I  attacked those rooms and got them back to order.  I know, these two rooms are never going to be my "beautiful" rooms.  I have too many businesses going on in both of them for them to stay entirely organized all the time,  but, I do know that I need to get the unnecessary out so that I can find the necessary!  How did I de-clutter?  A little at a time and sorting like things together.  As someone said,  I began eating the elephant a bite at a time.   As you can see in the photos below, those rooms are back in working order.   I just wanted to let the world know.....organizers can be messies too, you are not alone.  Life is just life and sometimes it gets in the way of progress but that doesn't mean you give up.  You work on what you can, when you can and eventually, you will get to where you want to be.  

Chapters of Life

The last couple of days my schedule has changed a lot.  I've had clients cancel at the last minute.......I've had some unpleasant details to attack..........I've had to manage my time a little differently than I normally would.  

The last couple of weeks my life has changed a lot.  My last child went to college..........I had to put my precious 13 year old dog down..........I've run into a small medical hiccup.........my first grandchild has been born. 

All this to say, I have had to close  some chapters in my life and begin new chapters.  

So, what is it I am supposed to do when things are changing so much?  I am learning.  I am learning to do some of the things that I have put off.  I am learning to have a plan "B" when life is so fluid.  I am learning to breathe.  

                                        (photo courtesy of pixbox77/freedigitalphotos.net)

The last several years have allowed little to no opportunity for me to stop and take a breath.  I have been on the treadmill of life and so now I feel like I have been given a gift to learn more about who I am and what I am about.  I have been given some white space or margin in my life. I have been given time pay attention to what God is trying to teach me and maybe be still and quiet for a minute so He can get a word in edgewise.  I still have some large hurdles to get over and some steep mountains to climb but taking the time to embrace this new chapter and not fighting it will allow me to climb away! 

So what does this have to do with de-cluttering?  More than you'd first think.  De-cluttering has as much to do with your emotional state and mind as it does the physical items surrounding you.  Physical clutter can be the manifestation of a cluttered mind and life.   So, while I've been given this "white space" I am de-cluttering some of my own stuff and de-cluttering my soul. 

So, take a moment.......look at your life.  Where can you give yourself the gift of some margin or white space?  Where can you say no instead of yes?  Where can you put yourself first instead of depleting all of you for everyone else?  Where can you steal some quite moments to sit still and really listen?  

Believe it or not, when you have a de-cluttered mind, it is easier to de-clutter your whole life. Trust me......I know!