Tag Archive for: decluttering decisions

Overwhelmed? Breaking through Decluttering, Organizing and Productivity

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Often my clients’ biggest challenges are making decisions.  Organizing is overwhelming and they need help simplifying.   They need help limiting choices.  There are many options and they are not sure which is the right one.  Having three questions will help you be more aware and focus on how your choices relate to your goals. 

~For questions of productivity and time management, ask yourself:   Does this activity align with my priorities, goals and dreams?  There is that famous saying, we can have it all, just not at the same time.  Our priorities need to help us make decisions, help us focus, and help us use our time to our best advantage.

~For questions about stuff, ask yourself: Do I love it or use it?   If you really love it, is it being honored? Loving something means you treat it as a precious item.  With functional items, how much do you use it? Not just “might need it some day”, but really use it?

~For questions about paper, ask yourself:  Can I find this information elsewhere,  like the internet, the library or by calling a friend?  We keep too much paper because we are afraid of needing it later.  There are so many ways to keep the information in a manner other than a file cabinet. 

What helps the most is often to have questions to ask, but also a partner to help coach you through the questions.  What question(s) do you ask yourself to help you achieve your organizing goals?

Family Traditions and Organizing

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family traditions and organizing

It was Friday night and my son called.  “Mom, do you have the skewers to roast marshmallows”?

 

Let me tell you about my family and one of our family traditions.  My son, in his thirties, married and 3 children, remembers when he and his sister were in elementary and middle school, we would roast marshmallows in the fireplace.  We had special skewers we used for our roasting.  My son wanted to use these with his family for their first marshmallow roast in their new home.

 

Back to the request! In the kitchen, in the barbeque spot, were the roasting skewers.  He came, took the skewers to their new home, and their family continued our family tradition.

 

What is most important to me is creating and preserving family traditions.  Whether it is sitting down to a family meal together, or having cream puffs every Christmas, this is my priority.  Having the “stuff” that connects to the meaning of these traditions makes it easy for me to make decisions on what to keep.

 

I recently decluttered in the kitchen. Letting go of the skewers never came to mind.  I did bless others with a soup tureen (wedding gift, never used in 27 years), coffee cups (from my mom, but seldom used), bread baskets (we already have plenty) and extra utensils not used.   The skewers are in a seldom used spot, but one I could easily access.

 

Always, I want to encourage you to prioritize what matters most to you.  It is vital to how you live your best life, making good decisions about what is around you and how you use your time.  Begin by reflecting and creating awareness, then write down your priorities to have clarity throughout the year.  Take baby steps to stay on track with this priority whether by letting go and blessing others with things that are not used, or clarifying your commitments.

 

What are your priorities? What are your really important family moments?