THREE MAGICAL TOOLS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

THREE MAGICAL TOOLS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

Well, I can't believe it but it's been just a little over two years since I started this crazy blog.  In the spirit of this two year anniversary, I thought I'd share my top three resources for organizing my scattered brain/life:


THE CLUTTER:

Salvation in the quest to remove clutter arrived early this year with the eye opening read:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

I did a previous blog post about this and if you have not yet read the book--READ IT!  I'm telling you, this one was a game changer for me.  I gave away truckloads of stuff and it's made managing the daily cleaning around this joint tons easier.  The book does have a little bit of a quirky perspective (I'm not so sure my pantyhose need a rest from their labors each day) but the method is a winner in my book. Is my house all bare and tidy all the time?  No--but I no longer have 4 identical gray cardigans and 7 matching paint rollers.  We have a whole lot less stuff and what we do have cleans up much more quickly.  The biggest thing to come out of it?  My tub is clothes free!

MY SCATTERED BRAIN:

Several months ago I referenced a new organization system I was using.  It's called "Mind Organization for Moms" and info can be found here:

https://hm156.infusionsoft.com/app/storeFront/showProductDetail?productId=1

This system is based on the book:

"Getting Things Done:  The Art of Stress Free Productivity" by David Allen

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743571657/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=35055104244&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13525329193197806&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9jf0nyvj1c_b

Fantastic read.  My mind was a scattered mess people!  My inbox had THOUSANDS of emails that needed to be sorted/dealt with,  I had stacks of papers, notes, and folders, and I couldn't keep it all straight.  There's a lot of good stuff in this book but if I had to pick two things that have made the biggest different it's this:

1.  Getting everything that is "in" my brain "out" of my brain

2.  Conducting a "weekly review"

Ever had that sneaking suspicion that you were missing something important but you just didn't know what?  I was feeling like that EVERY day!  I went to bed feeling behind and woke up feeling behind.  If Dave would suggest that I relax or take a nap I'd tell him, "I can't--I have so much to do!'  But when he'd ask what I had to do I never knew.  I just knew it was a lot!  By implementing just the two strategies listed above I feel loads better and am more productive than I've ever been.

LEARNING TO SAY NO:

Do you have a hard time saying no?  Do you look at situations and say, "I can help!"  Do you feel the responsibility to pitch in--all the time?  And then do you find yourself overwhelmed--a jack of all trades, but master of none?  Welcome to my world, people.  Welcome.To.My.World.

Until I stumbled on this little gem:

"Essentialism:  The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown

http://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-The-Disciplined-Pursuit-Less/dp/0804137382

If you only have time to read one of these books, this is the one.  It's caused me to look at the things I'm involved in and view them through a different lens.  In the process of doing that I find that I can focus more easily on my strengths and be more productive over all.  In a society that is always telling us to get more, do more, be more, it's easy to get overwhelmed.  This book puts life in perspective and has allowed me to begin to really concentrate on what matters most.  Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should do something.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed and scatter brained, welcome to motherhood! In the meantime, maybe my personal magical tools can help. 

Am I In a Cult?

I think I have found my new calling in life--master declutterer.  Is that even a word?  It is now!  My last blog post detailed the organization system called "Mind Organization for Moms" hereafter and forever referred to as MOM.  This system has been life changing for me as far as getting all that was in my HEAD out of it and into a system for me to keep track of.  My emails are organized into folders and my projects/responsibilities are all assembled in my file/cubby system.  Here's a pic:

I cannot begin to tell you what a relief this system has been for me!  Then, a few weeks ago I struck another gold mine.  This:

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing-ebook/dp/B00KK0PICK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

My apologies to all of my family and friends that have had to listen to me go on, and on, and on, and on about this book but holy cow people!  This is it!  (At least for me--I know there are some haters out there.)  I also fully recognize that it sounds like I have "drunk the kool aid", so to speak.  Totally worth it.

The basic premise of the book is that we need to keep the things that "spark joy" and let go of the rest.  But it's SO much more than that.  This book spoke to me. For so long I have been spinning my wheels on the home front.  Sure, compared to lots of people we were doing ok but you all know what a disaster my laundry room was not to mention my chronic pile of clothes on the tub. 

 LOOK AT MY TUB PEOPLE:

AND IT'S LOOKED LIKE THAT FOR 15 DAYS!!!! (Forgive all the caps but this is BIG!)  And not only that but following the book's philosophy I have gone over nearly all my house and everything has a place!  No longer do I spend an hour looking for spray paint I bought, or band aids or batteries, or the right light bulb.  Literally, everything has a place.  And it's one place and a place that makes sense.

I'm not going to take the time to explain the whole system because to catch the full vision you really need to read the book and it's totally worth the $7.99 on Kindle.  Forget waiting for it from the library--my sister was #424 on the waiting list...)  But the biggest thing for me was sorting by category--not by room.  For years I have "decluttered" or "organized" going room to room.  And I would make a little progress but usually it was just me moving a stack of things from one place to another and never really finding where stuff "belonged."  Or I would purge a little but hold on to things "just in case I might one day need 50 blinking mickey necklaces." (That is actually true--I found those in my closet).   According to the book, the author recommends starting with clothing and getting ALL of your clothing in one place.  That included all shoes, purses backpacks, coats, etc.  So that's what I did. I pulled every article of clothing I owned out of the closet/drawers/baskets and this is what I came up with.  Frankly, the pictures don't do it justice.  And this was two weeks after I had "purged" my clothes!

I then set about going through the items one by one, only keeping those things that "sparked joy."  (It's hokey, but that's what she calls it--I think it's a weird Japanese translation thing...)  Do you know what I discovered?  I discovered that I had 4 almost identical gray cardigans! Why?  I had 8 similar black t-shirts--yet I only wear the same 2.  I had shoes with tags on them that were a "good deal" but that I never wore because they hurt my feet.  When all was said and done I donated 3 bags to Goodwill, one to my sister and another one was full of trash.  The result?

And the best thing of all?  I'm putting things back where they belong!!!  This is amazing!  And once I started I couldn't stop.  I woke up early in the morning--early(!) to begin KMing (that's what the cool people call it I guess) my home. I had 7 identical paint rollers yet could never find one to use.  Who needs 7 paint rollers?  I'm never going to have 7 people helping me paint I'm sure.  My home is clean, I've donated LOADS of things, sent furniture to new homes and "tidying" my home is so much quicker. I no longer feel guilty when someone stops by or when I want to watch TV instead of cleaning.  

So to all of my fellow spastic moms who feel like they can't ever get it together, I'm telling you--this may be your answer.  It seems to be for me and while I'm not perfect I cannot tell you how much better I feel.  

So I don't care if this may be some weird Japanes cleaning cult.  I'm in.  Now who wants to join me???