The only thing worth saving on Black Friday

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Over-stuffed closet

 

Are you planning to go shopping this Friday, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving? Before you do, STOP and mull this thought over for a moment.

We are running out of room for what we don’t want!

It’s not just your home. It’s everywhere!  Charities are much pickier about what they will take because they have a glut of stuff already. Consignment stores are full. Selling items through online sites such as eBay and Craigslist is getting harder to do because everyone is trying to sell the same thing as you are. Even things with real value! And, worst of all, landfills are painfully overfilled causing many to simply dump their stuff on the side of a highway or some dimly lit street, a problem of blight that is growing larger every day.

So before you head out the door to the mall or sign on to your favorite online store because you’ve been bitten by the shopping bug, just this once ask yourself what are you really saving?

You may also want to take a quick inventory of your home by asking yourself these six questions:

  1. Are my closets already overstuffed?
  2. Do I have items I bought that I haven’t even taken out of their bags or still have tags on them?
  3. Is my garage bursting at the seams?
  4. Are there items left on my floor because I’ve run out of storage space?
  5. Do I already have enough of what I need?
  6. Am I using the excuse of Christmas or Holiday shopping to buy more stuff?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, buying more will only exacerbate the situation.

Instead of shopping, why not spend that time doing other things you like such as:

  1. Finish up one of the many creative projects you already started (and never finished) this year
  2. Go outside, take a walk, even if its raining or snowing.
  3. Take a friend or family member out for a meal or treat them to an experience instead of buying them something.
  4. Remind yourself that one less thing now means one less thing to have to decide about when you finally get around to organizing and getting rid of all that stuff you no longer want, that is if there’s still room left.
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Clutter is not a character flaw

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Organized Garage. Photo by LET’S MAKE ROOM

What are you doing this weekend? Unless you are like my friend Jan who loves to organize her home, there are probably a lot of other things you’d rather be doing then, say, organizing your garage.  This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want to be organized. Being organized is wonderful! It reaps great benefits, including but not limited to:

  1. Quickly finding what you need when you need it. Something you take for granted until you can’t find it.
  2. Feeling the sense of calm that comes when everything is clear in your space.
  3. Knowing you haven’t overlooked something important like your mortgage bill or the date of your kid’s first recital.
  4. More money to spend on things you want when you’re not spending money on duplicate items you can’t find and forgot you already had.
  5. Having time to focus on what you are truly great at or on something that gives you real pleasure

The difference between being organized and getting organized is simple: One takes effort, in some cases an overwhelming amount of physical as well as mental effort. It also takes a plan and a good working system that can easily be sustained.

Being organized, takes much less effort, and as a result you have more freedom and time to spend doing what you want to do as opposed to what you should do.

To put it simply, being organized is a whole lot more fun than getting organized. I’m a professional and I’ve been doing this for years but even I don’t live to get organized. I get organized to live.

When you decide to get organized, with or without help, the first thing you should do is stop making your clutter a character flaw. Instead consider the clutter you’ve created as a reflection of the busy, productive (and hopefully) better life you’ve created for yourself.

If it’s paper clutter that’s driving you crazy, stop blaming yourself for all the paper you have.  Despite all the efforts at going “paperless,” paper is still a fact of life. Today, for example, the contents of my in-box grew by 2 documents, 5 receipts and 7 pieces of mail I personally did not generate.

So instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself, “What would I rather be doing this weekend?” If your answer is something fun, fulfilling or relaxing, go ahead and do it, without guilt. If, however, the clutter around you is causing an unacceptable level of stress or you finally want to tackle your garage, go ahead. The investment in your home and yourself will be worth it.

 

Before the Remodel Comes the Premodel

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Courtesy of DMS Interiors

Remodel in progress. Photo credit: DMS Interiors

Courtesy of DMS Interiors

Remodel after. Photo credit: DMS Interiors

So you’ve finally decided to take the plunge. You’re going to do a remodel.

Before you pick up the phone to call your designer/contractor/architect, take a look around. What do you see?

Chances are you’re not seeing what your contractors will want to see the day they get started – an empty space.

More likely you’re looking at stuff – the good, the bad and the ugly: Furniture, household goods, artwork, paper, personal items and in all likelihood some amount of indistinguishable clutter on your floor and other surfaces.

It doesn’t matter if you are remodeling your whole house or just one room, before the first nail is in, you’ll need to think about how to organize and empty the room of all its contents. This is especially true if your remodel includes a new floor.

Before you pull the plug on the whole idea, consider this the first phase of your remodel. I call it the Pre-model – as in plan and prepare for the remodel.

Essentially, the Pre-model involves organizing, de-cluttering and emptying the project space before the remodel begins. It’s as necessary to the process as getting the right permits. Build this into your timeline and your project will start on time.

Delay or avoid the Pre-model and your project will come to a screeching halt before it has even started.

There are two ways to approach the Pre-model: The smart way and the hard way.

Here’s what the hard way looks like:

Your contractors are due to begin demolition tomorrow. You wake up at the crack of dawn and dump everything you own, wanted and unwanted, into boxes before stuffing them haphazardly into another area of your home – that is, if you’re lucky enough to have room. Otherwise you take it to an expensive self storage unit that is twice the size of what you need because that’s all they had available – and promise yourself you will deal with it later.

If you choose this method, don’t be surprised when you finally go to move all the stuff out of storage and you hear yourself say more than once, “I can’t believe I actually kept this!” (And paid all that money to store it!).

The smart way, on the other hand, looks more like this:

You are comfortably moved into a new, temporary home or area of your house and getting back to your routine. Your contractors congratulate you for making it possible for them to start on time and everyone is eager and excited to get started.

The smart way involves taking time to plan and prepare for your Pre-model.  If you do it yourself, this is what the Pre-model requires:

  1. PLAN
    Determine if there are any items you will need access to during the remodel. This is particularly important in a kitchen remodel where you may be without a functioning kitchen for several months. Consider setting up a “temporary kitchen” in a less used area or room of your home with basic kitchen appliances such as a microwave, mini fridge, electric water kettle, plates, utensils, etc.
  2. DECIDE
    Determine what household items you want to keep. Skipping this step will cost you in the long run so make it a priority to sort and organize these items by category.
  3. PREPARE
    Just as your contractor would, make sure you have the right “tools” for your Pre-model. Use large plastic bags for trash and for items you want to donate; paper bags for recycling; packing boxes or bins and other moving supplies for things you want to keep; and, a 4’-6’ table or surface for working.
  4. PURGE
    Make arrangements to sell or donate furniture items you no longer want. Take pictures of these items and email them to your preferred consignment store or charity. These services will review the items and decide whether or not they are interested in them.
  5. PACK
    Pack what you’ve decided to keep in boxes, labeled by category. This will make the process of unpacking that much easier when your remodel is done. Pack heavy items like books in small boxes; fragile items like dish-ware, lamps and crystal in double weight “dish-packs” and small appliances and lighter items like linens and lamp shades in larger boxes.
  6. STORE
    If you are lucky to have extra space in a garage or spare room to store the household items you retain, consider hiring a moving company that specializes in small moves to help you move those items for you.
  7. MOVE
    If you are planning to remodel your entire home, it’s likely you will need to relocate for a period of months. Consider consulting with a professional organizer/move manager to help you plan for this type of temporary move. They can also recommend reputable moving and storage companies in your area as well as execute your Pre-model and get you unpacked and organized when it’s done.

Doing the Pre-model is what allows your remodel to happen. By following these simple steps, you’ll experience far less stress during your remodel and discover how quickly you can live in and enjoy your new kitchen, bath, bedroom or newly remodeled home, when it’s done.

The 1st Step to Getting Organized

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A client told me today his son had so many toys in his room, it had become nothing more than a storage area where he sleeps.

For more than 100 years we’ve lived in a consumer culture. There is an article that ran in TIME Magazine last month (America’s Clutter Problem, March 2015) that does a great job summarizing why people, specifically American’s, tend to have more stuff than we used to.  One of the biggest reasons cited is the way buying itself has become so easy. Think “one-click” ordering. No time to ponder whether or not we need it – just click it and it’s yours. In a consumer culture that’s like sending a kid into a candy store with no restrictions and a pocketful of cash.

The culture of consumerism in 2015, just 7 years post-recession,  –  is showing signs of change. Some call it the new “shared economy,” others call it a movement towards “essentialism.” Think tiny homes and shared work spaces.

Technology is also changing the the way we use space in our homes.   We now have streamed media, digital tablets and flat screen TVs. In its wake, however, we’ve left old VHS tapes, worn books and magazines, and large TV cabinets – not to mention thousands of analog TVs and even cathode-tube versions left behind in our grandparents garages.

Dump

Transfer Station aka “The Dump”

We recycle but more often than not we dump. If you don’t believe me take a field trip, like I did recently, to your local “Transfer Station.” It looks like something from a post apocalyptic sci-fi thriller but it’s as real as the stench that hits you when you first drive in.

One of the most astounding statistics I read in the TIME article stated that while children in the U.S. make up only 3.1% of the world’s kid population, we Americans buy more than 40% of the world’s toys. Sure it’s great that you’re donating a few bags of clothing to Goodwill but the bigger issue is that we keep acquiring! Is this the legacy you want to leave your kids?

Our consumerism has become a zero-sum game.   Consider there is so much stuff in your life and so much space to contain it. If you have more space than stuff, you may feel a sense of emptiness or deprivation. As consumers, we fight off these feelings by filling the space we have.  If you have more stuff than space eventually you’ll feel stifled, stressed and stuck. In the latter example, you have two options: get more space; a bigger house, extra storage, which of course can cost a lot (the self-storage industry is a $24 billion business) or make the tough decision to purge what you no longer love, need or use. If you need help to physically sort and purge those things, consider hiring a professional organizer who can get you through the task.

In much the same way your doctors advise you to cut down on excess sugar, saturated fats or other unhealthy foods to reduce your risk of disease, you can also cut back on those “sweet deals” you see for items you don’t need in the first place. If your house has gotten fat from too much cheap, unwanted, unused or unusable stuff, then it’s time to make a change, and put yourself on a clutter diet. The first step: stop buying what don’t need.

 

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The man who loved advertising too much

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Editor’s Note: I’m pleased to feature guest blogger, Janet Peischel of Top of Mind Marketing.  Janet and I met six years ago at a networking event when I was just launching LET’S MAKE ROOM. She is a writer and expert marketer for small businesses. Here she talks about how developing a marketing plan is a great way to organize your time and help you stay productive:

I have a client who loves advertising. This made him easy prey for ad reps that knew they could sucker him into those special one-off deals that aren’t deals at all, but a hopeless waste of his marketing dollars.

JanetPeischeltopofmindmarketingNLI did a cost-benefit analysis to prove he wasn’t getting enough conversions on those one-off efforts to justify the money he spent. Then I worked with him to create a marketing plan and a budget for the entire year.

This plan has been enormously helpful in reining in ad-hoc spending and keeping him on track. He still gets those “special” offers, but he’s not wasting time agonizing over them because he knows that if they’re not in his plan, he’s not going to spend money on them.

As a writer and marketing expert, I recommend developing a marketing plan and budget for at least a year at a time. For every line item, identify the cost and the person who’s responsible for executing the activity – strategies or tasks. Planning and organizing your marketing activity makes you accountable and increases productivity because you’re not second-guessing yourself or wasting time on efforts with no ROI. (Return on your investment).

It is worth your time to map out a marketing strategy. By doing so you can see what’s working and not—and conversely defer those activities that are not delivering on your investment of time and money. A well-thought out marketing plan is like giving your business tough love… it may be painful at first but it works!

For more information contact: Janet Peischel, Top of Mind Marketing http://top-mindmarketing.com/

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1 word to help you organize your paper and get more done

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Paper clutter. It’s like death and taxes. We all experience it but no one seems to know what to do about it.

First, the bad news. Despite all the hype about how we’re all going to be paperless in the 21st century, the reality is paper is not going away anytime soon.Leaning-stack-of-papers-and-files

Here’s the good news. Most of what you keep, buried in your file cabinets or piled on your desk, you can probably toss. The challenge is knowing exactly what paper that is. In general the conventional wisdom states: keep the paper that would be difficult to replace if you lost it or if it’s likely you will need or want to refer to again. Everything else is optional.

If you still feel stuck,  I’ve created a little memory device to help you manage and organize your paper so you can more easily find what you need when you need it and feel less stressed or fearful of overlooking – or tossing –  something important.

Just remember the word ACT.

It’s actually an acronym for the guiding principle I use when working with clients overwhelmed by their paper piles.  Here’s what it means:

All paper, no matter what it is —  the bill from your plumber, last weeks newspaper, a grocery receipt, your Will — falls into only one of three categories: paper you act on, paper you contain, or paper you tossAction. Contain. Toss.  ACT for short.  So what does this mean?

  1. ACTION: These are documents that prompt you to do something that’s worth your time and adds value to your life or protects you from consequence. It’s the paper that you decide is worth your time to attend to. Examples are bills to pay, checks to deposit,  invitations to respond to, applications to complete, contracts to send, receipts to total for tax purposes,  a document you need to discuss with someone.  If there is no action needed then it falls into one of the next two categories. Contain or Toss.
  2. CONTAIN: These are documents you keep because you believe it’s likely you will read them, need to access them sooner or later or because they can’t be easily replaced. These can be anything from a business contract to a love letter.  It includes all of the following:
    • Assets such as property, stock certificates, receipts for high value items you own
    • Liabilities such as bills you owe or your tax returns and supporting documents
    • Insurance documents for your home, auto, other property you own or for you or your family’s health

Other than these you may also choose to keep the following but they are optional:

  • Sentiments such as love letters, family photos, your children’s artwork or your 3rd grade report card
  • Reading material such as current magazines, newsletters or books.
  • Personal papers that are unique to you such as your lab results, articles about you or something you’ve written longhand

Everything else, TOSS. Be sure you safely toss or shred anything that has private or confidential information such as your social security number or an account number. The rest recycle: Examples include, empty envelopes, junk mail, old magazines and catalogs, expired coupons and anything not included in the first two categories.

The nice thing about this simple system is that you can organize your paper according to this same principle.

Paper you ACT on should be right where you can see it. In a tray or vertical file holder on your desk.  This is especially true for paper bills.  Keep your bills separate and visible. If you have paper that ‘s related to a larger project, such as an “Idea Book” for your kitchen remodel, keep that somewhere handy for quick reference.

Incoming paper such as mail should go into an “in-box” or tray big enough to hold it and small enough to remind you it’s time to look at it.

Paper you CONTAIN lives in different places depending upon how frequently you will need to access it – right away, sooner or later or rarely.  Keep your “right away paper” such as frequently called numbers, a coupon you want to use that expires soon or a blank note pad on your desk or in your top desk drawer.

Paper you need to refer to “sooner or later” such as recently paid bills or records of your insurance from the current year, should be kept in a nearby file drawer or rolling file cabinet if you prefer. Most of this paper will eventually get tossed so don’t bother scanning it. Condense it as much as possible into the categories mentioned above: Assets, Liabilities, Insurance, Sentiments, Reading, Personal.

Paper you need to keep but “rarely” refer to can be kept accessible but doesn’t have to be within arms reach.  This could be in a file box in your closet or even in another storage area of your home.

Finally, paper you toss should, be, well… tossed.

Keep at least one receptacle or trash can nearby for your recycled paper. Be careful to safely toss or shred any paper containing confidential information such as your social security number or an account number.  If you have a lot of paper to shred, put it in a box for destruction and take it to a local shredding company. Alternately use an ink stamp to black out your confidential information. Then just toss.

That’s it. ACT – Act, Contain, Toss. Apply it to every piece of paper you pick up and you will never be overwhelmed by paper again.


 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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Are you declaring your desk a disaster area?

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DISASTER-AREA

Look around your office or wherever it is you do your desk work.

  • Is it tidy and organized so you can focus on your work and get done what you need to?
  • Do you have a system for managing your incoming mail, paper, files or documents that’s working for you?
  • Do you know exactly what to keep and what not to?
  • Would it take you less than a minute to find an important document or file?

If you replied YES to all these questions, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re on the right track. If you replied NO to some or all of these questions, you may be dealing with a paper crisis.

Here’s the thing:  Paper, or to be more specific the information or data on that paper has a purpose, actually two purposes to ACT on it, or to RETAIN it.

Paper either prompts you to do something, like pay a bill or revise your investment portfolio or send your Aunt Sadie a birthday card, or it contains information about you (or those close to you) that you want to hold on to like a birth certificate, pictures of your kids or last year’s tax return.

JustinCaseIf you are reading this, most likely you keep paper you don’t actually need. Why? Because if you don’t know whether to keep it or not, chances are you keep it for fear that you may need it or be asked for it some day. It’s what I call  behaving like Justin Case – as in keeping it just-in-case. Like you, Justin Case means well but if you’re not sure whether or not to keep something, chances are you are behaving like Justin Case.

There are two other reasons we keep paper.  The first is we are simply too busy or too overwhelmed by other priorities to deal with it or figure out a system for doing so.

The second is that for most people organizing paper is boring, time-consuming and it never seems to get done! Not very satisfying.

If this sounds like you, here are a few fear-taming tips to help you organize and manage your paper piles, files, documents and other paper clutter before the Paper Monster takes over your desk or workspace.

  1. Don’t start with filing: if you don’t know what you need to keep why would you spend your valuable time filing it? Instead use that time to sort your paper piles into three categories:
    A for ACTION – Paper that is prompting you to do something that will move your life or work forward, or is important to you and worth your time. (filing and reading don’t count)
    B for BILLS – keep these in their own container on your desk and don’t mix them up with anything else. Consider using online bill pay to cut down on stamps and envelopes.
    C for CONTAIN – paper that needs to be contained only (filed for reference or safekeeping).
  2. Toss everything you don’t need now!  This includes, but is not limited to, empty envelopes, expired coupons, old magazines or catalogs you have no time or intention of reading.  Get rid of  junk mail and old articles you’ve ripped out but never read or referred to as well as so-called “scratch paper” and those hundreds of little note pads you’ve collected – use a small bound notepad instead.  Shred old bills from last year (unless you are claiming it on your taxes) and statements or milestone documents that have an updated version. BUT Be sure to shred anything that has your account number or personal identifying number such as your social security or medical record number.
  3. Understand that paper is not going away anytime soon so going paper-less is more about creating less-paper than it is about eliminating paper altogether.
  4. Divide your A or Action paper into High, Medium and Low Priority. If you go a week and see the High priority items not done, you may need to consider how you are setting your priorities. It may not be that important after all.
  5. Schedule an appointment with yourself every week to do your desk work and to complete your tasks.  If you don’t do this, all the organizing will be for nothing.
  6. Learn what to keep and what is okay to toss. Unfortunately there is no simple formula for this but in general you should keep:
  • Tax files and relevant back up for the past 3 years or 7 years if you have been filing as a business during that period. You can scan all of these if it makes sense to do so, as long as you can easily print a copy when needed.
  • Vital Personal documents that verify a personal milestone such as a birth, death, divorce or are issued by the Federal government or State in which you live, such as passports and current driver’s license.
  • Records of assets you currently own including titles, contracts or appraisals.
  • Records of liabilities or anything you are currently paying on or owe such as unsatisfied loans, promissory notes and credit card or line of credit information. Again, these items can be scanned if it makes sense to do so.
  • Current insurance policy declarations for health, home, auto or life.

Still stuck or feeling overwhelmed?

Consider hiring a professional organizer who specializes in paper management or office organizing.  Check out the National Association of Professional Organizers for a list of qualified professionals in your area.

Lastly, any paper that must get done immediately, such as calling about a shut-off notice or signing your child’s permission slip for tomorrow’s field trip, don’t wait. DO IT TODAY! However, if you find you have too many of these, too often, it could be a signal that you are in crisis or chaos and need some help.

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3 Tips for a Stress-free Holiday

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keep-calm-and-give-thanks-35This Thanksgiving, I’m doing something a little different. I’m not cooking. My husband and I are still hosting this year’s “gratitude feast” at our home. There will be ten at our table and I’ve asked each person to bring an assigned dish. Instead of making a turkey, one of our friends inspired me when he said he was hankering for a smoked turkey. Having no inclination to smoke a turkey myself, I am having a popular BBQ shop smoke our turkey for us. I am making a few traditional favorites and we’re supplying the libations but other than setting the table, I’m feeling pretty relaxed.   Knowing that I don’t have to dedicate an entire day to cooking and then cleaning afterwards makes me feel like I’ve just kicked off a pair of tight shoes. The lesson in this for all of you is that preparing for the Holidays need not be an ordeal. Here are 3 other tips for having a stress-free Holiday Season.

  1. Delegate: Hosting the big holiday meal doesn’t have to mean stressing and missing out on all the festivities, even if that includes all the drama of your family.  Why not finally take up the offer you’ve heard your guests ask time and time again, “What can I do to help?”  Ask your friends to bring something to share or help with set up or clean up. Why shouldn’t you be able to have your smoked Turkey and eat it too?
  2. Do a clutter-check: Have you seen the commercial where the mother uses a leaf blower to blow all her household clutter into a back room?  Funny and probably not a bad idea, during the holidays.  Scan your kitchen, dining and living areas for clutter you would be uncomfortable having on display when guests arrive. Instead of sorting through it all now, plan on tackling it early next year. Did you know January is the official Get Organized Month?  Check back on our website for our special Get Organized savings in January.  For now, simply toss all those loose papers in a box and hide those extraneous items in a room or closet your guests don’t see. Then make it a New Year’s resolution to Get Organized in 2015 and add it to your to-do list!
  3. Create an action list.  Feel like you have a jumble of to-dos in your head that are adding to your Holiday jitters? Sit down for 5-10 minutes and write down everything you think you need to do between now and December 31st.  Include your one-time tasks such as pay bills and order Thanksgiving Turkey as well as bigger projects you have planned such as buy a new car or do Christmas Shopping. Then assign an A, B, or C priority to each item. A items are both important and time-sensitive, B items are important but could wait and C items are time-sensitive but not important to you (though they may be important to someone else). Don’t do any of the B’s or C’s before you do any of your A’s. If you get stuck, just ask yourself, “Is this really worth my time?”

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Can you part with your pictures? How about 90% of them?

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Editor’s Note: In almost every home we organize. we come across literally hundreds of printed photographs, both old and new, and our clients always tell us how important they are and that “some day” they will get them organized. We are delighted to feature a guest blog from Nikki McKenna, the founder of Storytag who offers some fabulous tips on how to finally get your photos organized once and for all. Read on…

Nikki McKenna Founder StoryTagIf you are like millions of Americans, you have boxes and boxes and boxes of pictures in a closet somewhere. You know they contain thousands of precious memories of your family through the years but you may also know that as time goes on so does the risk that pictures are lost, memories fade or disaster strikes to damage them. Digitizing these images is a must if you want to pass these memories on to generations, but where to begin? The cost of digitizing 1,000 images is around $500 and many families have more like 10,000 or even 20k. That can be a bit prohibitive. So, then, let’s start by recognizing that you will get just about ALL of the value of your pictures if you pare it down by a factor of 10. If you need some helping being convinced of that, please reach out! But then, how do you decide to pass on 90% of those precious pictures? Here are a few tried and true tips:

 

  1. Start with some focus on what you really want from that “pile” before jumping in. It makes a difference in how you organize! Do you see these images as a way for your story to live on? Are they precious memories for your family to share? Are they pictures that you know you will want for future projects (e.g. scrapbooks, slideshows or wall space)?
  2. It will help to think about three (3) categories: Album, Box and Can (e.g. trash can). We call these the ABC’s of photo organizing. I borrow from a William Morris statement often used by many traditional organizers that encourages us to keep only that which is beautiful or useful. Beauty, as it pertains to our images, refers to those that strongly evoke the feelings of a memory we want to remember. Useful, as it pertains to our images generally means they document facts of our past we want to remember. Roughly speaking, the beautiful falls into A and the useful usually falls into B. Otherwise, it’s the trash can.
  3. We take pictures to remember, so as you cull them down, think about what the image actually helps you to remember that other pictures don’t. Is it the one picture that has all of the people at your wedding? Keep it. It’s useful. Is it your favorite picture of your grandpa and you when you were on the boat together on that camping trip? Keep it. It’s beautiful. Are there 20 other pictures of your grandpa and you on that same boat on that same camping trip? Consider tossing those.
  4. When deciding to keep an image or not, think about whether you could have remembered the image before you saw it. Pictures that stood out in your mind even while being in a box very likely captured something important in your life. They very likely have beauty for you. If you didn’t remember it, and it doesn’t document something specific, consider tossing it.
  5. Notice that you can’t capture everything with any number of pictures and decide to write your memories down! Just ten pictures that have the story are worth more than 10,000 with no description or names. As you are sorting, quickly write down those stories. Then, keep the momentum by keeping a journal for your present.
  6. Take your time. You can only eat an elephant a bite at a time; so set aside a manageable chunk of time every week to do a bit. I assure you, you will get there.
  7. Have fun! You are reliving old times. And, rest assured that it’s a project your whole family will love you for.StoryTagLogo

Storytag is a full service solution to help our clients get their stories booked. We employ a unique interview process, image selection, custom design and book printing using only the most qualified suppliers to combine story with images into a memoir that will be enjoyed for generations. Our mission is to help families all across the country preserve their stories with respect and artful aesthetics so that they can all experience more often their own legacies of joy and love and loss and each and every one’s unique meaning of life.

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twitter: @mystorytag

 

Clutter is a “First World” problem

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Helping people get organized and decluttered at home, as someone said to me recently, is a “first-world” problem.HouseClutter

It’s true. Much of the so called “third world,” representing 80% of the world’s population, couldn’t even imagine having a cluttered home, let alone pay  to have it organized and cleared of unwanted items.

I work with all kinds of people. People who live in large homes and small apartments. People who are moving in and moving out.  People who are downsizing and people who are “resizing” or remodeling. The one thing each of these people have common is their desire to simplify their lives. Not one of them says, “I want more!” It’s just that having less is not as easy as they think.  It requires time, and often physical as well as mental endurance to decide what is truly essential.

I am rarely surprised by what I find when I first meet with a client. What surprises me is how much people believe what they own is “essential.”  I have always held that clearing our physical space helps us to discover what’s truly meaningful to us and opens up the space in our minds to discover who we really are. In thinking about simplifying your life, I invite you to ponder these questions that speak to why getting organized is never about our stuff and really is more about ourselves.

  1. How do you decide what’s essential?
  2. Do you believe what you own defines who you are, at least to the world?
  3. How do you find value in your life other than through the things you own?
  4. Are you willing to let go of what’s usable when you have no use for it?
  5. How will you overcome your reluctance to purge what no longer serves you?
  6. Do you assign meaning to objects that remind you of people, places or other experiences just to hold onto those experiences and if so, what would it take to let them go?
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