Managing Paper Pile-Up, Part One: The Mail June 10, 2008

The main source of paper clutter in our house is used to be the mail. We had a giant (conference-sized) table piled high with unsorted bills, catalogs, solicitations, newspapers, flyers and magazines. A naturally organized person would never live like that . . . but it took me a long time to develop the habit - and the discipline - to stop piling and start processing.

Now when I bring the mail inside, I don’t even put it down anywhere. I walk straight to the recycling bin and get rid of the obvious junk. If there are direct mail letters that look like they need to be shredded, I put them in my “to shred” box; magazines or catalogs I want to look through go on the stairs to be taken up at bedtime, and everything else goes into my inbox, to be processed on desk day.

Sometimes I can’t believe I lived with all that paper taking up physical - and mental - space.

Clutter & All or Nothing Thinking June 8, 2008

You’ve finally decided to tackle the clutter weighing you down. You’re standing at the door of your closet, staring at the piles, and you suddenly decide: “I can’t do any of this if I can’t do all of it - right now!!” but you don’t have time to do all of it - so you give up entirely.

That’s an example of All or Nothing Thinking - and it can derail us from achieving all sorts of goals.

Many of us are (sadly) very familiar with this kind of thinking related to our food and fitness plans. One cookie, or one missed workout - and we give up - and we often fall off the wagon in a big, bad way.

“I ate one cookie and blew my diet so I might as well eat 10 more”. OR, “I didn’t get to the gym this morning so I might as well abandon my exercise program”.

Don’t let All or Nothing Thinking get in the way of creating some order for yourself! If you’re facing a big organizing job, make peace with the idea that it will take you a while to complete it. While it’s true that the mess may get worse before it gets better, if you keep at it - even in small bursts of work - you will get it done. So much better than the alternative of working like a fiend for two hours until you can’t stand it anymore, and then never going back to finish the project because it was so miserable! Or giving up completely before you’ve even started.

Clearing clutter can feel completely overwhelming; I know because I’ve been there. I used to set aside whole weekends to “get my house in order”, but it didn’t work; I just couldn’t sustain my energy or focus. I still have some piles of paper and files from my last marathon session - at least three years ago.

But now I practice what I’m preaching: I work for short periods of time (sometimes just 5 minutes) and I stop when I feel paralyzed and can’t make good decisions anymore. Slowly but surely I’m clearing out the clutter and gaining order, serenity and peace of mind.

The Basement Report: Still Sorting! June 7, 2008

Yesterday I spent 15 minutes down in the holiday room, chipping away at my great basement organizing project. I piled up all the ribbon and tissue paper and took inventory.

One of the best tips I got from Laura Leist’s book Eliminate Chaos is to sort and purge your stuff before buying any storage containers. Shopping is #8 of her ten steps to getting organized! All those fun stores like IKEA, Storables and The Container Store seduce us with bins, boxes and baskets of every shape, size and color, but you really shouldn’t buy any of that stuff until you know what you need to store.

I’m definitely in favor of investing in storage containers that you like to look at and do the job, but for now, my sorting continues. When I have everything organized in piles or temporary boxes, I’ll decide if I need to purchase anything to store it in.

I’m so looking forward to walking into that room and being able to put my hand on exactly what I need!

Procrastination Fuels Anxiety June 5, 2008

Of course it does!

If there’s something lurking in my To Do pile that makes me want to run, chances are it’s something I’ve been avoiding for a while. If I decide to put if off again, I’ll get momentary relief - phew! - glad I don’t have to deal with that today.

But what happens in the long-run? The next time I see that task needing attention, I’ve added guilt and even more anxiety to the equation; now I really want to run. Maybe the problem has gotten bigger, maybe I’ve missed a deadline - mostly I just feel awful that I’ve let whatever it is go too long.

Today I faced my anxiety about a couple of things I’ve been avoiding. Keeping Neil Fiore’s wise words in mind, I took care of the anxiety and the tasks - and just got them done!

Although it’s very tempting to give in to the instant gratification of putting things off, I know that it erodes my confidence and my self-esteem, and makes me feel like my life is out of control. Procrastination is definitely not the path to serenity . . . .

Decluttering by Donating to Charity June 4, 2008

There’s an excellent post and discussion on unclutterer.com today about the ins and outs of donating used clothing and other items to charity.

As a veteran of the non-profit world, I’ve been on the receiving end of donated items that should have gone into the trash, and instead required valuable staff time for sorting and purging. I’ve also had trouble finding organizations who are interested in taking my clothes and shoes because they’re on the small side.

What Erin at unclutterer suggests is that you do some research ahead of time to find out who takes what, and avoid frustration on both ends.

Nothing feels better than clearing out bags and boxes of things that you don’t want or need anymore - and what could be more satisfying than knowing that someone else will be grateful to have them? Just use caution and common sense when choosing where to donate!

The Basement Report: 39 Gift Bags June 3, 2008

I’ve been working - five minutes at a time - on clearing out and organizing our basement, starting with the “holiday room”. Yesterday I found no fewer than 39 gift bags in there: 31 Christmas bags, 4 Hanukkah bags, and 4 birthday bags. Is that a lot of bags? Hmmm . . . looks like I need to catch up on the Hanukkah and birthday bags.

I guess it’s crazy to have so many, but now that the bags are organized and I can find them, I might actually use some this year. I can’t wait to sort through the ribbon and gift tags!

And by the way, I worked for 10 full minutes down there this time - I’m picking up speed in my quest for order, serenity and peace of mind.

I Had a Genuine Moment of Serenity June 2, 2008

We finally decided to move QPR’s “studio” (Queen Pack Rat, my lovely daughter) into the spare room and I’m moving into her little space in the kitchen nook. This means I no longer have to step over and through Polly Pocket and her tiny little shoes; contraptions and inventions made with tape, yarn, and paper (the latest was a money machine, but it doesn’t seem to work that well); “special” drawings, FOOD, etc. etc.

My new space is much smaller, so I’m trying to be lean and mean with what I bring into it - which is a challenge but empowering. I’m hoping to be much more organized in my new little nook, and having less stuff is the first step.

I decided that one thing I did need - close at hand - was a small notepad where I could write down post ideas for One Bag Nation. Yesterday, inspiration struck! I sat down at my desk, where the notepad lay waiting for me and my brilliance. I felt so organized, efficient, productive - and YES, serene - I could hardly stand it!

And if you can believe it, that big “MOM’S” label actually gave QPR pause . . . haha!

What Works, What Doesn’t: My Notepad in the Car May 31, 2008

What Works? My habit of keeping a small notebook and pen in the car, in a little drawer that’s easy to reach from the driver’s seat.

All kinds of things come to mind when I’m driving: calls I need to make; something I need to pick up for dinner; upcoming birthdays; books or music I hear about on NPR; ideas for my “day job”; any number of household projects that need doing - and now of course, blog post ideas.

Without easy access to paper and pen, those to do’s might simply fall out of my head and be lost forever . . . but with my little notepad I’m all set. I just tear off the piece of paper I’ve written the note on and take it inside, where I add the item to my to do list. I make no promises about what happens after that.

What Doesn’t Work? Sharing the pad or the pen with your children. Don’t give in - no matter how pitiful their cries - or you’ll never see that pad or pen again! and the next time you want to make a quick note, you’ll look like a contortionist, as you feel around the floor and between the seats in a desperate search . . . frustrating and dangerous!

I Need to Stop Procrastinating and Start Working May 29, 2008

Earlier today I indulged in a bit of a poor me post about losing sight of my goals and disliking my day job. I spend more time thinking about how much I dislike it and trying to avoid it than I do working. And the truth is, once I get started it’s not all that bad, especially compared to the anxiety and guilt I feel about not working.

So . . . I had a little Come to Jesus Meeting with myself this evening and decided that I need to JUST DO IT, as the famous saying goes. Our family depends on the income, the work itself could be a lot worse, and ultimately all this procrastinating is bad for my state of mind. Neil Fiore says in The Now Habit:

Trying to escape work by procrastinating will only increase your anxiety; only work will diminish [it] . . . the only thing that really helps is to start working.

Well said, so true - for me anyway. And ironically, what I do is write about food . . . I like to write, at least here, and I love to cook and eat and read and talk about food, so I can’t figure out why this is so painful for me.

My goal is to work (a measly) minimum of 10 hours each week. Starting tomorrow I’ll aim for 2 hours a day, even if it means I work for just five minutes at a stretch - no, just kidding! Instead I’ll follow Neil Fiore’s advice and work for 30 minutes at a stretch. And in between 30-minute work sessions I can spend 5 minutes dealing with the basement project.

My blog will be my witness, and you, dear readers are welcome to cheer me on.

I’ve Dropped My Big Rocks May 29, 2008

Several weeks ago I wrote about the notion of attending to your “big rocks” first, in terms of time management and productivity. I had three big rocks, and ambitious goals.

As of this writing, I think I’m still carrying just one of those big rocks. Why?

The first rock was to work towards financial security for my family, by diligently working at my freelance job, which bores me to tears. I have to force myself to do my projects, and this is no way to live!

The second rock was to find a new job, by making one contact daily, which was probably unrealistic in the first place. But I’m so unfocused and unsure of what I want to do that I have no compass for making those contacts.

The third rock was to work on my personal serenity project - decluttering and organizing my house, doing a little bit each day. I think I can give myself a pat on the back for this one. I’ve organized my sock drawer, and my linen closet, greatly reduced the amount of stuff I had on my desk, and managed to clear the floor of piles of debris in my basement “holiday room”. I’ve taken two trips to the consignment store, put together a favorite recipe binder (two in my case - I cook a lot), and organized my spoons :-).

So how to tackle rocks one and two? A coach. I thought I had to approach a coaching relationship with goals, like: “I’m dying to be a (fill in the blank) and I don’t know how to get there”, but I’m learning that the idea is to start the process with questions. I know I want to make more money, but I’m really torn between my interest in social service work and my entrepreneurial dreams.

In the meantime, I do need to pick up that financial security rock and keep marching along . . .