Marilyn Bohn | Creative Organizer

People have always said to me, “you’re so organized”. It is true I am organized and I think it may come from living with a brother who was completely the opposite. He used to pay me a nickel to make his bed so he could find his bed when it was time for him to go to bed. And then he didn’t get nagged by my mom telling him, “make your bed, make your bed”. It was a win-win situation.

Organizing is not a destination it is a journey. I bought me a sign that says “Enjoy The Journey”. I am the type of person who wants things to be done—now. I am all about time management and I am always looking for ways to save time. Ben Franklin said “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned”. Wow! That is pretty great return on our time.

I cringe when I read “Tips to help you get organized and STAY organized”. There just isn’t any such thing as staying organized.

•What staying organized really means is: you can use systems to help you organize which then becomes a way of life.
•It is organizing in little chunks of time
•Using time management ideas to save time and this leads to being organized
• Just like there are no miracle diets (wouldn’t that be nice), there are no miracle solutions to staying organized

So don’t be discouraged when you can’t seem to STAY organized, my philosophy is, “things just get undone” and that’s the way it is. Just like Humpty Dumpty it can all be put back together again.

What is your favorite trick to ‘staying’ organized?

My friend Aby from Simplify101.com has generously donated her beautiful book on scrapbooking. She is the co-author of this book and has autographed it.

To get your name entered in the drawing leave an organization tip as a comment and say something like “I want to win, count me in on this free giveaway”. On Wednesday, June 11 we will have a drawing for the winner which will be live on video.
There are some other select prizes we will be drawing for also. We will then mail the prizes to the lucky winners. So, come on and have fun, leave a tip.

A friend of mine said her home and her car are an outward expression of her inward state of mind. Then again she said is it that the chaos outside adds to the chaos on the inside.

It is like which comes first the chicken or the egg. Does it really matter in the end which comes first?

•If you have chaos in your mind and in your physical surroundings take a good look and think how does it makes you feel and then decide; how do I want to feel.
•Make a plan of action, a map, a goal, whatever you want to call it to guide you in making changes.
•Take steps to reclaim your space and your life. This may include hiring a professional organizer or working with a friend, getting someone who can support and guide you on this organizing journey.

Whichever way we chose to look at the problem, whether we are going to make changes internally or externally one will affect the other.

My friend just sent me a package from Taiwan. I was sitting at my desk wondering where the scissors had been carted off to as I had to cut the envelope open. I kept looking around the room for the scissors (not moving from my chair) until I read on the custom label— candy. Boy that made me jump up and go for the scissors in the other room because I wanted the candy. See all we need is the right motivation and we can accomplish anything.

What motivates you?

I decided I am on over load. I have misplaced my notes from the NAPO conference in Reno, I go to a room and forget what I was going for and I have a new computer with new programs that I am trying to learn all at once and it just isn’t working.

I have a plan to get my time back and my mind back. I am not sure where they went but I have a plan. When I was in the doctor’s office (for allergies) yesterday I wrote down what I wanted to accomplish that day and then I numbered them in the order of their importance.
If I am having issues I am suspect you may be in the same boat as I am. Good thing we aren’t always here at the same time or not all the time.

1.Write a to -do list, cross the task off when done. Separate lists into a. Things to do and b. Appointments and c. Fun things to do. Do one fun thing and do a must do thing; rotate between the two to help stay motivated to do what you have to do. Or maybe do three must do and then one fun project.
2.Organize or clean up as you go. Wipe the counter as you cook, put things in the dishwasher rather than in the sink. Put things where they belong rather than piling them on the counter.
3.When you are in a room and things need to go to a different room stock pile them in a basket, bag or box and then take them all at once. The point is to save time.
4.We don’t have to do everything for everyone. Learn to say no and say it. Your time, family and well being are important.

By the way I got eight out of 13 things accomplished. But then I also got a zillion of other things done too. I decided to take advantage of the fact that tomorrow (now today) would be here and I could work on the tasks then. But it was such a good feeling to see my progress.

How about you? Do you ever feel you are working in circles getting nothing you want to get done actually done? Please share

Happy May Day
I used to pick flowers and take to old ladies on May Day, then knock and run. I always imagined how happy they were to open their door and find flowers. How about you? Was this a tradition where you grew up?

The April Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is fabulous. This is where I was yesterday. The riots of gorgeous tulips are a feast for the eyes. The tulips were about two weeks later in blooming this year because it has been so cold. They were absolutely beautiful. Rows and rows of perfectively lined tulips in colors of red, yellow, pink, and fuchsia were a feast for our eyes.

It is obvious these tulips were grown with tools and a system to make them beautiful to the spectators and also enable the growers to harvest the bulbs to sell so others can enjoy the beauty of these tulips.

Understanding our own organizing style and selecting tools to help us get things done efficiently to work for us is key to helping us become organized.

Different organizing styles:

•Right-Brain Style—They tend to be more verbal, emotional, visual, flexible, and intuitive. Tend to get bored with routine, like to be spontaneous and easily lose track of time.
•Harmonizing Style—Tend to be more sentimental, attached to possessions.
•Innovating Style—Tends to be creative.
•Left –Brain Style—Tend to be more logical, disciplined and detail orientated.
•Prioritizing Style—Tends to be naturally organized and uncluttered.
Just like the different varieties and colors of tulips we are all different in the way we organize and one way isn’t better than the other. We probably all have a little bit of each style in the way we organize. By learning about which organizing style we tend to have helps us set up our own systems and enhances our own personal organizing style.

Have you ever been to the Skagit Valley Festival? What did you like most? (I love the art work of the artists that photograph and paint the tulip fields).

What is your organizing style? What systems have you developed that work for you?

I was thinking about knots the other day. There are a plethora of different kinds of knots. There is the art of tying knots all related to the sea. Some of them are the clove hitch, bow line, loop knot, and eye splice to name a very few.

Men’s ties have two different knots, the Common knot and the Windsor knot.

The knots a doctor uses when stitching up a cut or a surgeon uses to secure the ‘thread’ used in an operation.

How about the knots we get in our stomach when we see a scary movie, or watch our kids giving a talk or singing in a concert, or going to an amusement park and riding on the rides. Of course these aren’t literally knots, but that is how they feel.

Do you ever tie yourself up in knots thinking about getting organized? Does your stomach tie up in a knot just thinking about all you have to do and you don’t know where to start? One way to get rid of those knots is to start with one simple, easy thing you already know how to do.

•Make your bed, by doing this you have organized a part of your bedroom. After making the bed, hang up your clothes that came off the bed.
•Scrub the sink in the bathroom, a part of your bathroom is now organized. Now start putting the things away on your vanity.
•Start with simple things that you are comfortable with doing and then move on to larger tasks.

Knots can save our lives, can make things attractive, or they can hurt. If you have hurtful knots in your life, start today by taking one baby step to get rid of those knots. What kind of knot have you had in your stomach lately and how have you gotten rid of it?

Earth Day is Today. I hope you Breath easy:)

I googled to find out more about Earth Day and I was treated to a beautiful eye full. The Nature Conservancy site is a wonderful place full of interesting articles and facts. Its mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. I highly recommend you take a look here for more information: www.plantabillion.org/
They have a campaign to plant one billion trees in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. This forest is at 7% of its original size. These tropical forests are the lungs of the earth. They help regulate the atmosphere and stabilize global climate. They store enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in a never ending cycle of life.

I took the opportunity to buy 10 trees. As of April 6 there were 241,236 trees purchased. It was fast, easy and secure. The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible.

I was in the store the other day and a can of Campbell’s soup stopped me as it was green and a little white instead of the red and white label I am used to seeing. Green is in.

What green thing are you doing? Share your success, favorite project or thoughts on organizing for a green globe.

We live in a time of rising prices, haven’t we always? I talked to my friends and family and here are 12 things we do to save money.

1.When I get a raise I put the amount that actually shows up in my pay check (after taxes etc) in savings rather than in checking.
2.If I am writing a check I round up to the next ten and either put that in savings or let it build in my checking account. (IE: If the item was $45.79 I would record in my check book $50.00).
3.When I want something at the store that is an impulse decision I don’t buy it. If I keep thinking about it; I go back later and buy it. This way I know if it is something I really want/need or just think I do at the time.
4.I save all coins. I never give the clerk silver change, even if it is a matter of only a few cents. Every month I deposit the change into my bank account. I never miss this money and by saving about $20.00 to $30.00 a month this way I have extra money to pay on my credit card.
5.I always pay off my credit card in full every month so there is no interest charge.
6.I buy in bulk at reduced prices, and then I divide into smaller packaging.
7.I give my children an allowance, I teach them to budget their money. This way they don’t nickel and dime me to death when we go to the store.
8.I shop with cash.
9.I keep my receipts with me. If I had purchased an item before and it is now on sale I get a price adjustment.
10.I shop on line. I don’t have the temptation of buying what I don’t need or hadn’t planned on buying as I do when I go to a store. I look for places that have free shipping. (L.L.Bean has free shipping if you use their credit card, just remember to pay it off as soon as you get the bill so there is no interest).
11.I use www.grocerygeru.com where there are free coupons and other offers.
12.I cancel newspapers and magazines I don’t read.

It would be fun to make a list of the ways we think we waste money. That will be another time. (Actually we came up with 31 ways we save money which you can read in my article “31 ways my friends, family and I save money).

I was looking in the linen closet downstairs thinking I wanted to get in there and organize some things. What I really want to do is get rid of some of the sheets as I have too many and someone else might as well be using them.

On the top shelf was a checkered blue bag. I took it down and looked inside. There were doll clothes and a really old orange (ugly) apron my aunt had made eons ago. (I’m not even sure it was my aunt). I had no attachment to it.

At first I thought I ‘should’ keep the apron and then realized I didn’t want to so it went into the donation bag. (Always keep a donation bag going). And then the doll clothes from the bag I was folding neatly —I have no idea if the doll they belong to even exists any more. I stopped, realizing those could be donated too. Yeah for me! I did it.

The last thing in the bag were these cute little salt dough ‘dolls’. For years I have held on to them because my daughter who is now in her 30’s made it when she was in pre-school and I just had to keep it. You will be proud of me—I took my own advice and took a picture and threw them away. The next day I remembered I needed to send the photo via email to Costco so I could put it in my photo album. I didn’t do it!

I hadn’t remembered I even had the dolls and it doesn’t matter if I have that memory. There are so many more things worth remembering in the last 30 plus years of her life. I feel such freedom that I let it go. What do you have in your closets you can just let go of? Tell all please.