Golden Windows
Have you ever found yourself in a place of heightened productivity and/or organization? It may be realizing you’ve recently made multiple trips to the donation center, had the sudden urge to purge a closet, or the unexplained need to buy a new planner and allllllll the accessories. Whatever the behavior is that reveals itself and sparks a feeling of “wow, why am I feeling like this?” might be the result of being in or entering what Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 calls a golden window. A golden window is a span of time where the stars seem to align perfectly and your energy, productivity and desire for organization is at it’s peak.
5 Ways to Combat Task Paralysis
Your family just left the house and you have an entire 3 hours to yourself at home on a Saturday afternoon. Ahhhh the things you can accomplish! You can rest! You can cross some things off that never ending to-do list! You can maybe even nap!! You have been looking forward to this window ever since the last time it happened 6 months ago. But as soon as that door closes and the house is quiet, that brain that has been so looking forward to getting! things! done! is stuck and that clock keeps ticking while you scramble to figure out how to move forward. It’s like you have 2 flat tires at the bottom of your legs.
You Have 5 Minutes
Picture this: you wake up to an emergency evacuation being called for your neighborhood due to a wildfire inching it’s way toward your house (or any natural disaster). You have 5 minutes to gather your belongings and leave. You may or may not have a home to return to. Aside from the obvious - people and pets - what would you bring and why? Do you know where these items are in your home? Try it out now - set a timer for 5 minutes (don’t cheat!) and gather what you can remember off the top of your head. Did you miss anything?
4 Things I’m saying YES to for the Rest of 2024
I recently listened to some very old episodes of a podcast highlighting the host’s YES list and NO list and I thought it would be fun to do my own spin on it. While in the world of decluttering and organizing, it feels like we are saying “no” to a lot of things, I wanted to start with my YES list because there are still a lot of things to say “yes” to!
The Power of a Brain Dump
I don’t know about you, but my brain is all over the place lately thinking about squeezing all we can into the last few weeks we have left of summer break, back to school, work, travel plans, and more. If your brain feels like that cluttered basement of yours, it might be time for a brain dump.
Back to School
With August just around the corner, Back to School isn’t far behind. If you have school-aged children, you most likely have already started thinking about it. Fretting about it even. Let’s not fret! With just a little time planning, we can turn back to school into the easy peasy transition it should be.
Mindful Shopping on Amazon Prime Day
It’s no wonder people are frustrated with all the stuff in their homes. The temptation of a good sale, the excitement of a new & improved item, the rush of that box showing up on your doorstep. They’ve got many of us pretty good. This is a great time to reflect on our shopping habits over the past several years and prepare for the temptations and urgency that are ramping up.
The purpose of this post is to prepare you for the coming days. Knowledge is power and while I’m sure you already know how this time of year makes you feel, it doesn’t hurt to have a little reminder or perspective going into it.
Organizing Tiny Spaces: Dorm Room Edition
Organizing and maintaining a tiny space can be just as - or even more - challenging as a large space. You need to get creative, prioritize, and be a real problem solver as you try to Tetris all of the things into a limited area. Dorm living is a great example of this challenge!!
The Seasonal Switch
Here in Vermont we are lucky enough to enjoy 4+ seasons (don’t forget stick season, mud season and fake spring 1/fake spring 2) every year. While enjoying the weather changes, we also get to enjoy the routines of moving out the old - in this case winter - and bringing in the new - spring/summer.
The piles of wet mittens are replaced with piles of wet pool towels. Coat after coat after coat on the hooks in the mudroom are replaced with hats, bathing suits and beach toys. It’s like starting a new chapter of a book - so much possibility and promise of adventure ahead.
Embracing the Benefits of Downsizing
While generations ago the ideal life included the biggest house, now it’s about the biggest life.
5 Ways to Make Spring Cleaning More Bearable
I know. It’s probably not the highlight of the season for most people. Not even on the top 3 list of what you are looking forward to - but also, it is what we make of it, right? Right. Spring cleaning can suck or it can be a way to refresh (reinvent?) your home for the new season. I choose to embrace it and if you do too, read on for some tips on how to make it more fun and productive!
What happens next?
When you look around your home do you see a curated collection of what makes you happy or a bunch of….stuff?
Ease your mind at dinnertime
I’m not going to lie and say that every day at dinnertime I’m 100% prepared and ready to go, but with these simple tips, you can take some of the pressure off and maybe even enjoy mealtime.