Janice

Time to Revisit Those New Year’s Resolutions

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By this time of year many of those New Year’s Resolutions have gone by the wayside.  It’s time to review them again and decide which ones really matter to you.

It could be you had great expectations of what you would be able to change and accomplish this year.  After almost two months not much progress has been made so now you’re beating yourself up.  STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!

You do not deserve a beating.  What you do deserve is some self-compassion.

It’s hard to change some habits.  It’s hard to stay disciplined and motivated especially if our resolutions are very general and vague.  It could be you need to change the way you think about your resolutions and the actions you want to take to accomplish your goals.

Have you ever found yourself being so motivated to do something that you didn’t even think about what you had to do, you just did it? What was it that made you so motivated to begin with?

A few weeks ago I found myself motivated enough to clean up an area of my finished basement without all the stress and procrastination I had been using to avoid it. I had invited some friends over for Super bowl weekend.  Our finished basement has a big screen TV on one side of the steps and on the other side is a table and old kitchen cabinets lining the walls.  This is my sewing and craft area.  It also had become a dumping place for many things that I didn’t know where to put them or I was too lazy to put them away in their proper place.

Anyway, I knew I would be highly embarrassed to have my friends see this mess.  After all, I write about decluttering/organization and here was this disastrous mess!

Hey, I’m the first to admit I’m not perfect but this mess was just plain out of control. So to avoid any embarrassment I was highly motivated to clean up the mess before they came over.  The storage room has a door I can close so a lot of the stuff went in there. Now I’ll need to tackle that area but at least my friends didn’t see it! An added benefit is now I can actually use the sewing area to sew things.

I was talking to a friend recently and she too found motivation to clean up her finished basement. Her husband was babysitting their young grandson one day.  He later told my friend that he would love to play with the grandson in the basement area but it was too messy and not safe for him. That motivated her to finally take the action to clean up the area.

We both found a motivating factor that made it easier to take the actions needed.  Mine was having company over and not wanting to be embarrassed by the mess.  Hers was having a safe and better place for her grandson to play.

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with a strong motivating factor.  Just wanting to have a decluttered house probably isn’t going to motivate you to take action.  Having company over for a holiday dinner might be.

So instead of beating yourself up for not taking actions on your New Year’s resolutions try to find a motivating factor that will make you take the actions needed. Start small with something like cleaning off the dinner table so the whole family can sit down together.  Getting your kitchen cabinets organized could eliminate frustration when asking your family to help prepare the meals. It will be easier and more fun for them if they can find the right bowl or pan without having to dig through a messing cabinet.

As much as we should be motivated to do things for our own pleasure or safety I find it usually is easier to take action if the motivating factor involves the pleasure or safety of someone else, not just myself. I’m not sure if this is human nature, cultural, or family upbringing.  It really doesn’t matter.  The more you take action to declutter and organize your home not only will your family benefit, you will also reap the benefits.

It’s a building process. The more actions you take the more you will want to continue to take actions. Discipline by its self is the hard way. Find a good reason to motivate yourself to take one particular action. When that is done find another good reason or motivating factor to take another action.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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5 Minute Under the Sink Decluttering

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Yesterday I listed several “5 minute decluttering tips” on this blog. The first one was decluttering the old sponges, etc. from under the kitchen sink.  I knew I hadn’t done that for awhile so I figured it was time.  One of the reasons I’m listing these tips here and on the Facebook page is not only to help you but to help me take some babysteps on the decluttering journey.

Well, what I found under my sink even surprised me. Not only did I have a lot more clutter than I thought, I found a few missing things. Here is a picture of the container I keep the sponges, brushes, and gloves in.

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Here is another picture of how it looked after I decluttered.

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Now here is a picture of what I found in the original mess.  I would save the old gloves (ones that were stretched out and hard to hold dishes) to use for other non-dish cleaning chores. I guess I collected them more than I used them.

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Most of these sponges were pretty worn out and stained. I use old sponges to clean up messes from the floor and other non-dish cleaning. I don’t think I need that many!

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Yes, this is a jar of Poppy seeds. The funny thing is that about 3 weeks ago I went over to my mother-in-law’s house for dinner. I was in charge of baking homemade bread. My husband wanted poppy seeds on the bread but I couldn’t find any in the house. I usually keep them in the refrigerator. Of course I didn’t even think to look under the sink. I have no idea how they got there!

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You never know what you may find when doing a 5 minute decluttering tip.  If you have Facebook please go “like” my page. I’ll be adding new tips on a regular basis. I certainly need to do them myself!

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Five Minute Decluttering Tips

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IMGP1609Over the years I’ve collected many pages of tips from magazines, newspapers, and even internet articles. I have them in several file folders in a filing cabinet. I decided it was time to go through these folders and find tips I can share with you. They aren’t doing you or me any good if they stay hidden in the drawer.

I’m narrowing these tips to ones that can be done usually in 5 minutes or less. Many times we overestimate how long something takes to do so we don’t even start the project.

Well, if you spend 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there decluttering before you know it you’ve made a big dent in the mess. I learned from Flylady.net that babysteps will add up quickly.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what can be done in such a small amount of time. That is why I’m researching for as many small tips as I can find.

I’m going to be putting these tips on my Facebook Page, CutClutterWithScissors. I’ll also have occasional blog posts listing several of these tips.

Here are a few tips to get you started. I think I’ll go do a few of them myself right now.

1.  Clean out old sponges and outdated cleaning products from under the kitchen sink.  This can be done while talking on the phone or waiting for your coffee or tea to brew.

2.  Clear out old leftovers out of fridge and throw out any expired foods from the fridge and pantry. This is a good habit to get into the day before trash pick-up.

3.  Throw away old cosmetics, lotions, and other unused items.  They can harbor bacteria over time. Old shampoos and soaps can be used to clean toilets and bathtubs. They are a lot safer than the harsh chemical cleaners.

4. Declutter a junk drawer. Organize like items in small containers with or without lids. Small ziplock bags also work well. Snack and sandwich size work best.

If you have a 5 minute tip you use please share in the comment section. Thanks.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Paper Clutter Organizing Tools

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Are you always scrambling to find a pen and paper when you need to take a message while on the phone? Do you have a place to put those messages so you or a family member can find them? Or do those messages end up getting lost and someone, maybe even you, gets mad because the important message didn’t get the person on time?

If the above happens too often in your home it’s time set up an organizing system that is easy enough for the whole family to following.

I have been going through my “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” free e-course on the Facebook Page by the same name. Lesson 3 is about how to control and organize all those little scrapes of paper we use to write messages on. Since I suggest several kinds of products I thought I would show you examples of what I’m talking about.

The products listed below can be purchased through Amazon. The links will take you directly to those products. You may also find similar products at your local office supply store and some discount stores. None are very expensive and would be well worth it if they work for your household.

The time, money, arguments, and embarrassments that will be saved when you are organized are priceless.

 

This phone message organizer is great if you have family members or even yourself who have a tendency to lose those messages. They are inexpensive enough that you can keep one by most phones. The top copy pulls off and can be posted (see bulletin board below) in one central area. They create a carbonless copy so you always have a back-up. I used to use this tool when my boys were living at home.

 

This bulletin board is the size of two standard pieces of copy paper put together. That makes it small enough to hang on a wall in the kitchen or near the main phone. If you have a large family or take a lot of phone or other messages than you might consider using a larger board. One side of my refrigerator is exposed in a good area so we always used that spot for messages when my son’s where growing up. Now that it’s just my husband and me, I use the top of the stove vent near the main phone.

If you are always looking for a piece of paper and a pen or pencil to write a note then a desk organizer can help a lot. I have one that is similar to this one near my main phone in the kitchen. It makes it easy to take phone messages or grab a piece of paper to make out a shopping list. Since I have a lousy memory and tend to forget things I write notes to myself a lot. I’ll put these reminders up on top of the stove vent so I see them.

 

These are just a few tools that can help you and your family stay organized. They are inexpensive enough that if they don’t work well for your household you haven’t spent too much money. Organizing tools can make a world of difference but one size doesn’t fit all. Think carefully about any these or other tools before you buy them. You don’t want to add to your clutter. If you feel these tools will work then give them a try. If not then research other tools to see if something else will work.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Join the Free e-course, Cut Out The Paper Clutter

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This past week I decided to start a Facebook page devoted to paper clutter.  I wrote an e-course last year that gives one short lesson from each chapter in the eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.  I figured the Facebook page would be a great place to discuss these lessons plus give even more tips on decluttering those paper piles.

I’m in the process of updating many of the links in the e-course.  The first 3 lessons are already done and the rest should be completed in the next day or two.  Since each lesson is sent every three days you can go ahead and sign up today and get the updated lessons.

I’m going to start discussing Lesson 1 (Junk mail) on Friday, January 20th (tomorrow). Since it will be on a Facebook page you can jump in anytime you want to. Here is a link to sign up for the e-course and to “like” the Facebook page.

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Cut Out The Paper Clutter e-course.

Cut Out The Paper Clutter Facebook Page.

Cut Out The Paper Clutter eBook

Since I started setting up the Facebook page and editing the e-course lessons I’ve found myself motivated to work on some of my own paper clutter. Yesterday I went through some file folders that contained a lot of instructional articles about setting up a blog and website.  Since mine has been set up for a few years now there was no reason to keep these printed articles. If I need help with some technical problem I can always look it up online again. A nice thick stack of papers went into the recycling bin!

Join me on theFacebook page and hopefully you too will get motivated to get rid of some of your paper clutter. Then once the clutter is gone it will be much easier to organize the important papers that are left.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.  ~Hans Hofmann

The e-course is free. TheFacebook page is free. What have you got to lose except some paper clutter.

Take the e-course first and if you still need more tips and help with decluttering and organizing your papers then invest in the eBook for only $9.99.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

 

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