Simplicity

Big Resolutions vs. Little Changes

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It’s that time of year where most people make New Years resolutions to improve or change some aspect of their life. After all, we recognize that we aren’t perfect, yet we believe we should be. It’s the all or nothing attitude that makes us feel like we have to make sweeping changes to our lives or else everyone including ourselves will see us as failures.

It’s time to stop this destructive thinking. So this year instead of big resolutions I propose we all think about the little things we can do to make our lives better.

At first glance the little things don’t seem to add up to much. I found this poem, which many of you may be familiar with, that can help put the little things into perspective.

 

Little Drops of Water

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean,
And the beauteous land.

Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our earth an Eden,
Like the heaven above.

And the little moments,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages,
Of eternity.

by Mrs. J. A. Carney (1845)

So this year I’m making a resolution to focus on the little things I can do to declutter my home and life. It could be each time I go in a room I’ll take a moment to stop and look around to see what 5 things I can put away, throw away, or give away.

I will focus on drinking a glass of water instead of grabbing a piece of candy or cookie in the middle of the afternoon. If I’m truly hungry I’ll have one piece of fruit. As I keep adding more small changes I know the extra pounds will slowly go away.

These “little” changes, like the little drops of water or little grains of sand are what will add up to make our lives more of what we want them to be.

So what little change can you make today, and tomorrow, and the next day? Please share the changes you want to make. Your ideas may be that little deed of kindness that can help someone get out of the “all or nothing” destructive way of thinking.

Janice

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Mailing Those Cards and Packages

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If you haven’t already bought and shipped those Christmas gifts then you better get moving. Time is running out. Here is a timeline for sending cards and packages through the United States Postal Service.

Dec. 4 Military mail destined for Iraq or Afghanistan (First-Class & Priority Mail)

Dec. 15 Parcel Post

Dec. 20 First-Class Mail

Dec. 21 Priority Mail, the best bargain in shipping

Dec. 22 Express Mail

Mailbox_Filled_with_Toys

Here are tips on addressing those cards and packages. If you follow the USPS guidelines you’ll have a better chance they will be delivered on time.

http://www.usps.com/send/preparemailandpackages/labelsandaddressing/usingthecorrectaddress.htm

Since my handwriting won’t win any awards I try to print out my addresses for most of my mail, especially any packages I send. Avery labels have many different kinds to fit most situations. They have free templates you can download to make holiday labels for both return addresses and mailing addresses. Here is a list of some mailing tips from their website.

http://bit.ly/fKpaRA

I’ve been old fashion and have been hand addressing my holiday cards, a few each evening. After reviewing the tips at the sites above I think it’s time to print out the address labels. I had the Avery Wizard for Microsoft Office (free download) on my old computer. Time to download it on the this new computer and create those holiday labels. It will save a lot of time so I can get my cards mailed out. Now if I can only learn how to set up an address file and use the mail merge on Word then I’ll really be able to save time.

Instead of spending time writing out addresses, make those labels and spend time writing inside the cards. People throw away the envelopes immediately but cherish and remember the handwritten messages.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/99D10k

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out the piles and organize the important papers.

3Debook_Clutter8

http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

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Stressed Out About the Holidays?

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Our expectation for the holidays is to always make this year the best year ever! But as it gets closer and closer the stress builds when we realize there is still so much to do and very little time left to do it.

If you find yourself getting stressed out each year then you may have what I call Pre-Holiday Syndrome. The media, movies, and even your own memories (often distorted) promote expectations of a wonderful Christmas that we should all aspire to having. For most people it’s unrealistic and we set ourselves up for unnecessary stress. Don’t buy into it!

Decide what is realistic and important for you and your family. Here is an article I wrote with lots of tips to help you have a realistic, happy, and less stressful holiday.

Pre-Holiday Syndrome

To find more time to get things done be sure to check out the 10 Time Wasters at the end of the article.

Janice

P.S. Be sure to check out my new Facebook Page. Become a fan and keep updated with lots of tips on decluttering and organizing.

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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The Holiday Rush Has Started!

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The holiday rush has already started! There’s Thanksgiving to prepare for. Holiday cards need to be bought along with presents for Hanukkah and Christmas.

As Willy Wonka said:

“So much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it.”

The cooking shows and magazines are giving ideas about how to make a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner along with having the best Christmas or Hanukkah ever. In theory, it looks and sounds great. In reality, it’s a whole other story.

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas can be simple and great at the same time. All three holidays are celebrating: being grateful, hard work, miracles, and compassion and understanding for our fellow man/woman. If we think about these basic reasons for celebrating it will be easier to keep from being caught up in the commercialism of fancy cooking, elaborate decorations, and over the top and expensive gifts.

To help counteract the media pushing us into believing these high expectations we need to have a written plan for the holiday season. The best way to do this is to create a notebook and write out your plans for each holiday you will celebrate. These plans should include what you want to accomplish and by what date.

Here are some links to help with the planning of Thanksgiving:

http://www.oceanspray.com/planit/essentials/planning_book.aspx

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/thanksgiving/planning/

If you don’t know where to get started with Christmas then Flylady.net has some great information.

http://www.flylady.net/pages/HolidayCruising1.asp

I have written an article on how to set up a holiday card system that I’ve used for years. It may take a little time to set up at first if you have a lot of people on your list, but in future years it will save you tons of time. You can check it out here:

http://bit.ly/aXvbwE

If you are mailing gifts this holiday season then check out the USPS site for dates. Write in your notebook who you want to mail gifts to and when you need to buy them and mail them. You may want to mark your main calendar with the “mail by” dates to make sure you aren’t late.

http://www.usps.com/holiday/shippingcalendar.htm?from=home_ftpromo&page=holidaymaildates

Below are links a few more links to help with Thanksgiving planning. I’ll be adding links for Hanukkah and Christmas on the next blog post. Be sure to check back soon.

turkey

*Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 25

http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/thanksgiving.htm

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving

http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanksgiving/

http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out the piles and organize the important papers.

3Debook_Clutter8 http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

The Holiday Rush Has Started! Read More »

Lighten Up Your Perfectionism

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We all want to be perfect. We are told from a young age that “practice makes perfect”. So we grow up believing that if we try hard enough and practice enough times we should be successful in what we set out to do.

Well, reality sets in that we are not perfect. No matter how hard we try the results are not always “perfect”. So then we start doubting ourselves. We feel like failures. After all, there are winners or there are losers. How you play the game doesn’t seem to matter much anymore.

In this strive for perfectionism it’s hard to laugh at ourselves for being human. We’ve become obsessed about:

  • always wanting our homes to be “magazine perfect”
  • always sending the “perfect” thank-you note and sending it on time
  • always cooking the gourmet meal even when our family prefers the boxed mac & cheese
  • always responding to that email, twitter or facebook post right away even when there are more important things to do

These are just some of the things our perfectionism causes us to think “failure” instead of laughing at our human imperfections.

Perfectionism is the striving to reach a destination that doesn’t exist. So why even try to go there. Lighten up on yourself and start enjoying the journey. The journey should consist of:

  • Sending the thank-you note on a plain piece of paper if necessary.
  • Setting a timer and work a little each day at decluttering. Enjoy the process.
  • Reply to that email 2 weeks, even 2 months later. Apologize and move on.
  • If it’s something that needs a timely response (email, phone call, etc.) just respond the best you can. Don’t worry about what the person on the other end might think, that’s their problem.

We worry too much about making ourselves look “perfect” in other people’s eyes. If they expect us to be perfect then they have a BIG problem. If we didn’t worry so much about what others think then we just might enjoy life more. We could learn to laugh at our faults. Once we learn to laugh at ourselves we can come up with clever ways to compensate for those “imperfections”. Compensating doesn’t mean we are working to eliminate our faults. It means accepting our imperfections and working around them to achieve our goals. We will work at being the best we can be and that will be good enough.

Janice

 

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