“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”
… Og Mandino
I read someplace recently that it’s o.k. not to do your best when it comes to clutter control, to do it only good enough and that is…good enough. This has bothered me just a bit. I agree with Og Mandino that what we plant now we harvest later and this includes doing clutter control in our homes.
What do you think?
So you are a crafter but don’t have room for your crafts? We went to Shepherds Bush open house last Saturday and they had a sweet little make and take. We made cute little gift tags. As we were doing this Kari who gave us instructions said since the birth of her baby 2 months ago her sewing/craft room was converted to a nursery.
She had to get rid of clutter and consolidate all her crafts and scrap booking supplies to make room for baby.
Here is one clever way a friend of mine made room for her crafts. She uses a sturdy moveable shelf unit. She has everything categorized and has made homes for everything. Recently she said it was a disaster so she took a few hours and got rid of clutter and reorganized everything. It is in the guest room as it is only used a couple of times a year. When guests come she just drops the curtain and everything is hidden. Thanks for showing us your clever organizing system.
How about your craft room? Do you need to get rid of clutter or is it just right? (As Goldilocks would say).
Monday’s Focus:
We got out our Christmas decorations and the trees right after Thanksgiving. As I was decorating the tree there was some ornaments that just don’t light me up anymore so I didn’t put them on the tree.
One ornament made by the kids back in 1974 dropped and broke. Is it worth gluing back together? I am not sure if it is worth the time, it really has no personal meaning for anyone. Hum, I have to think about that for another second.
I bet you have guessed the focus for clutter control —as you get out your decorations donate or throw away those you don’t like anymore. Fix the ones that are broken within the day so you can hang it on the tree.
Part of my precious tiny nativity from Brazil my daughter sent to me when she lived there was broken—it is the leg from the crèche which is no bigger than the end of my thumb. Can you tell me what glue I should use to glue it back together? It is made of blown glass.
Clutter control starts with getting rid of things that doesn’t light you up—and that includes holiday decorations of all kinds.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Thanksgiving isn’t only about being thankful—which of course it is. That is the Thanks part. The second part is Giving. I heard this in a talk earlier this week and I thought this was very interesting and so true. I had never looked at it like that before.
I am thankful for you, my friends for reading my blogs, my articles, watching my videos and purchasing my products—which I make to enrich your life. Thank you for being you!
I will be back on Monday with a thought and a smile.
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
—Mother Theresa
We may believe getting rid of clutter is a small thing, but I know it leads to bigger things—such as peace and contentment, happiness, saving money and sometimes even saving marriages.
Getting rid of clutter by starting small gives us courage and strength to do more and more clutter control. What does this do for you? For me it is about living peacefully and being able to find what I want when I want it.
Do you ever feel like you are a day late and a dollar short? I have been excited about Monday’s how to get rid of clutter focus and then time got away from me and here it is Tuesday already. But I am going to share Monday’s focus anyway.
I love Christmas music and I usually wait until after Christmas to turn it on but this year I started early. I have a CD case full of Christmas CD’s. I am listening to each one and am tossing those I don’t like and never listen to.
It is a great way to get rid of clutter. On this CD you see in the photo I didn’t like at all because it is Country/twang/Western music which I CAN”T STAND. Instead of tossing it I went and got a pen and took the time to write GAG on it.
My daughter saw it and said, “Really, you are going to keep clutter around?” I explained someone else might like it—silly moi. If I didn’t want to hear it it would never be played anyway.
So out it has gone into the recycle bin. Get rid of clutter this week by tossing CD’s or DVD’s you NEVER listen to, never watch and never will.
It seems to me black Friday is shifting into gray Friday because stores aren’t waiting to offer the spectacular deals at 6:00 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving like it used to be. We can now shop the week before with many stores offering daily deals and free shipping. Check out this black Friday detective web site to find ads already posted from merchants that are super deals waiting for the intrepid shoppers of black Friday. blackfriday.us/
Did you know December 17 is called Free Shipping Day and there is a web site that lists 1,000 merchants participating plus they have sales plus it is guaranteed to arrive before Christmas? freeshippingday.com
Are you planning on buying anything to help with clutter control this season? Have you received a nifty organizing product in the past that you can’t live without?
“November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.”
- Emily Dickinson
When my daughter was in high school she talked about going to Norway to work for four months. She changed her mind when she found out how much of the time it is in darkness.
Sometimes I think our clutter is in darkness (drawers, closets, under the bed etc) and we don’t realize how it plays on our psyche. Where do you live—is your life in Norway or in the light?
WINNER: Tracy, you won the Tag along organizer on my Wednesday giveaway. I have contacted you already, but remember to send me your address so I can get this off to you. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Clear Clutter Show ‘N Share Tuesday:
Do you have any Waldo books on your shelf? I have a Christmas one and I find pleasure looking for him and giggling every time I found him.
Revisiting spaces in our homes to clear clutter is a bit like finding Waldo. When a place is organized the way to keep it organized is to revisit it every few months or so to clear clutter that has “magically” appeared. You know it is by magic because no one ever admits to putting it there—am I right or am I right?
These two photos show a pantry revisited. Can you see the subtle changes? To help family members shelves are labeled. Things didn’t quite work for the woman of the home so things were changed around a bit.
Just subtle changes can make a big difference when we clear clutter. How about you—do you have a place that is organized but you need to revisit to clear a bit of clutter?
Monday’s Getting Rid Of Clutter Focus:
When we were in Washington State at the lavender festival this one farm had the cutest goats and they sold goats’ milk soap. I bought a bar of soap in the shape of a fish. I kept it around for several years in a dish on my counter but never used it.
One day it dawned on me if I kept rinsing the dust off of it it would lose its character so I decided to use it. (I had been keeping it as a memory). It had just become clutter through the years.
It was the nicest soap to use and made me happy every time I lathered up. I have other memories of the trip I didn’t need to keep this one around gathering dust.
Do you have little fancy soaps you are hanging onto? Isn’t it time to get rid of clutter and use them or donate them to a shelter?
That’s our focus for this week—get rid of soap clutter you are hanging on to.
Clutter control is what you will have once you begin using FreedomFiler, you will never again have to take time out of your life to clean out or reorganize files! Click here to learn more.
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If you are looking for a professional organizer who is excellent, honest and caring, I highly recommend Marilyn Bohn to get the job done for you.
Julie Penn
Clearfield, UT
"I recently used Marilyn's services after moving into a new home and realizing we really needed to downsize and organize our belongings. It was a huge undertaking and without Marilyn's help, I wouldn't have had the motivation to do it.
I can unreservedly recommend Marilyn Bohn to you for any organization needs you may have." -Jilian Summers Bellevue, WA |
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