TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, projects, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

Do you have clutter in your home/life? (Who doesn’t, right? ) Take a look at these 5 tips that will help you break through overwhelm and cut the clutter.

1.  Don’t let clutter in your life/home to begin with!

• If you need something, BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. Make a list and ONLY get those items. Avoid the sales and the impulse to buy more than 1 of the same item. Ask yourself:  Will I really use it?  Do I really need it?  Do I really love it?

• Remember: If you bring an item into your home, you must have space (a home) for it.

• When you buy items: you could also try this–for every 1 item you bring into your home, throw out 1 or 2 items.

2.  Declutter regularly

Depending on your time availability, amount of clutter, and your preference, make regular appointments to declutter.

Here are a few examples:

• File sessions:  15 – 30 minutes of filing each week will help you keep your papers from piling up.

• Mail sessions:  5 minutes everyday; on your way into your house, throw junk mail in the recycling bin. Put the rest in your action files or planner/organizer.

• Tidy-Up sessions:  spend 20 – 30 minutes every evening to put items where they belong.

• Monthly sessions: pick an area in your home and spend 1 or 2 hours sorting, throwing stuff out and organizing/putting it back neatly.

3.  Only keep and organize what you NEED, USE, or LOVE – everything else is clutter.

• When decluttering, again ask the main questions:  1. Do I really use it? Do I really need it?  Do I really love it?

4.  Put your things away when you are done with them– sounds simple enough?

5.  Keep a clean house – I don’t mean PERFECT, I mean good enough to function.

• Clutter and cleanliness are not the same thing BUT they do go hand in hand. (When you have a routine to keep things clean, you are less likely to clutter it up with stuff; and vise versa, when you have routines to cut the clutter, you are more likely to clean!)

Please send me a comment: Let me know if you find these tips helpful or if you have a tip of your own that helps cut the clutter.

Candy

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, projects, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

1. Make your bed every morning. It’s just the right thing to do …makes you feel good and gets your day off to a great start.

2. Utilize an organizer/planner. Either paper or electronic, whichever works best for you. I use a combination of the two.

Then make sure you use it! It will help you keep track of everything.

3. Menu plan. Read my blog post: Menus, Recipes & Groceries—3 Time Saving Ideas

4. Evaluate/Prioritize/Get Help: Sit down and really think about all the family activities, schedules, your obligations, Mother/household responsibilities, time away from family/home i.e. job etc. and last but not least..the person you are aspiring to be…

What are the conflicts? What is truly important? What can be cut from your life? If it helps, assign a priority number to them. Do you need help in any area? If so, don’t hesitate, get help!

5. Put things away: Of course we all know this but we don’t always do it: Put things where they belong as soon as we are finished with them. It really helps to keep the clutter down.

6. Develop an evening routine: Develop a routine before you go to bed that helps you get ready for the next day.

•  Wash the dishes immediately after dinner

•  Do a 10 – 15 minute tidy-up

•  Review your planner to see what you have going on for the next day

•  Set out clothes and anything needed for the next day

I hope you are having a great summer. I would love to hear your tips on how you keep it all together–so please leave a comment.

Candy

Okay so I decided on my summer time project. I thought about a number of things I wanted to get done but then I decided to FINISH a project that I started a little while ago. You know what I’m talking about–that certain project that got you all excited, gave you motivation so you jumped in with both feet. But then….something happens (like life!) and before you know it…several months have gone by and your project just sits there…waiting. Well, not anymore!

My Project

Organize my recipes, menu planning, and update my grocery list template. This was the subject of a post that I did last month. I stated that I am in the process of tweaking my system. But, along with improving it, I still have additional tasks to accomplish before I call this project done.

This is my goal

I will pace myself by spending a couple of hours a week working on the tasks involved for my project. My deadline: September 3rd. Remember–goals have deadlines!

Here is my list of tasks that I will need to accomplish by this date:

Recipes

• Finish sorting recipes into 2 piles: “Family Favorites” and “Must Try”.
• Enter only the “tried and true” recipes into my desktop publishing software program–I get to be creative!
• Print recipes on 5 x 7 plain index cards
• Laminate cards
• File by categories in my recipe card keeper
• Donate recipe books to charity

Grocery List Template

• Improve my master list in Excel
• Add more items in drop down lists to make it user friendly and easier to print

Menus

• Fill out the next 3 months of meals
• Incorporate fun theme night and leftover night
• Incorporate new recipes

Did you know that when you take the time to write down goals and tasks for a project that you are more likely to follow it through to completion. Well, now that I know the steps involved for my project, I just have to get to it. (Can’t wait to cross each task off my list!)

So how about you? Have you decided what your summer project will be?

Happy organizing!

Please leave a comment or e-mail me at candy@liveunscrambled.com. I would love to know what project you picked and if by doing it, has helped you to stay on track this summer.

Candy

Summer time is well known for relaxing, a slower pace, reading good books, watching baseball games, napping, watching the latest blockbusters, fun in the sun, cookouts, reunions, vacations..and on and on…. What fun, an UNSCRAMBLED summer. I’m all over it!

Staying On Track

Although summer is full of fun activities, I have found that it can be hard to get back into a regular routine once mid August or September rolls around. If you have been working hard at simplifying and organizing your life (like myself), just beginning, or just thinking about it…you don’t want your momentum to dwindle. No worries though, I came up with a way to stay on track. This summer I have decided to “Pick-A- Project”.

Here’s How It Works

It’s so simple. Just pick One significant project to work on over the summer. It can be an indoor or outdoor project.

Here are some examples:

Design an outdoor living space for entertaining family and friends

Plant and maintain a vegetable/flower garden

Clean-up around the exterior of your home: pull out dead shrubs, paint the shed or arbor etc.

Totally redesign a room in your home: un-clutter, paint, re-arrange furniture (or purchase if needed), containerize, organize and store belongings. This could be really fun especially if you are creating a whole new purpose for the room or closet. Speaking of purpose….

Re-purpose items in your home—think outside the box—make it an adventure!

Design or re-create a filing system that really works for you

Create a craft room

Clear out the basement or attic –make it usable

Create a system/plan/schedule for you and/or your children for housework etc.

Plan a garage sale for all that stuff that you’re getting rid of

The ideas are endless…

The Point

Enjoy yourself, relax, have fun—live unscrambled this summer. But living unscrambled is a balance of many aspects of our lives. Think about it, if you slough off too much, you’ll have to work harder because you’ll have to “catch up” just to get yourself back to ground zero. You want to make sure you maintain and go forward while enjoying the summer. So think of things that will help your life be simpler and flow easy. Don’t let yourself get stagnant this summer…think about it, Pick-A-Project, plan it, then implement it!

I’m thinking about my own project and have a couple things in mind. I’ll let you know what I come up in my next post.

Please leave a comment or e-mail me at candy@liveunscrambled.com. I would love to know what project you picked and if by doing it, has helped you to stay on track this summer.

Candy

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, projects, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

Spring is upon us and summer is around the corner. It’s time to get out and enjoy the sun and all the fun outdoor activities! The most enjoyable part for me is spending time with family on our back deck and grilling out. I love cookouts, such a nice change from cooking in the kitchen.

Did you know that we take something with us as we transition from season to season—searching for more time! Well I have found 3 time saving ideas that you can implement and carry with you into each season…and it involves food! Yum!

Small Amount Of Time + A Little Extra Planning = Great Food, More Time, And Less Stress

Sounds like a great equation to me! Read through these 3 fantastic ideas. Give them a try and see if you agree with me that the benefits you reap are well worth the little extra effort.

1. Menus

Plan meals a month at a time. Use either your favorite paper calendar/planner or electronic calendar such as MS Outlook, start filling the days in with your family’s favorite meals. Be flexible and allow for variety. From time to time, look up new recipes to try and incorporate them into your menus. Oh and make sure to include pizza nights, leftover nights, or maybe theme night, etc…be creative.

2. Recipes

Organize your recipes so that when you need them you can easily find them. Here is just one of the numerous ways to organize recipes.

Either use a desktop publishing software and print or write out your favorite recipes on unlined 5×7 index cards. If you desire, make them colorful or use pictures that depict the recipe. Then laminate or use clear contact paper to protect and preserve them. Next, purchase a card keeper, one that holds 5×7 cards. If you click on the link, you will see that this one comes with dividers so you can categorize your recipes. (Actually any container that the recipe cards fit into will work and you can buy 5×7 dividers.)

3. Groceries

Make a day of the week your grocery shopping day. Write out your grocery list for the entire week based on that week’s menus. To make it even easier, you could make a “master grocery list” using MS Excel. I do this and it is so much fun to do and makes it a cinch when it comes to making my list. I just select the items I want from drop down lists. I print it out and keep it handy to add last minute items before going to the grocery store.

*Quick tip –plan a prep day. (Either the same day that you grocery shop or
whenever it’s convenient for you) Prep for the week’s meals by chopping
meat and veggies, making sauces etc. Huge Time Saver!

Benefits

Yeah I know what you are thinking, “I can’t even plan what I’m having tonight and you want me to plan menus for the whole month, plan my grocery list a week ahead, and organize my recipes!” Yes, I do and here’s why:

• You won’t have to scramble to come up with a last minute meal.
• Your meals will most likely be healthier and you will avoid that fast food run.
• You will dramatically reduce your stress level by knowing in advance what you are having for dinner. Peace of mind!
• You will save time and money:
• By having everything you need in your pantry or refrigerator—no more
last minute runs to the store.
• This system allows you to plan around what is on sale that week; as
well as food that you already have—no more wasted food. Plus, you’ll
always know what ingredients you have and need which will cut down
on duplicates.
• As mentioned above—this system will allow you to prep for the week
to save time the night of the meal. Cuts down on time spent in the
kitchen.

P.S. This is the system I use. I’m currently in the process of tweaking my Master Menu Calendar and Master Grocery List. As soon as I’m finished, I will share them with you.

I hope you give these ideas a try. Please come back and leave me a comment. I would love to hear if you found them helpful.

Candy

Ever feel overwhelmed? I know I do! Yes, even Professional Organizers can get off track and get caught up in the confusion of the crazy busy day to day stuff—which we call “LIFE”. Professional Organizers aren’t immune to overwhelm. That is why I am in constant pursuit of simplicity, peace, balance, harmony—LIVING UNSCRAMBLED!

I strive to keep myself organized, to find simple ways to maintain my mind, home and life. So I thought I would share with you a great exercise that has helped me to remain focused on what’s important in life and if needed, to get back on track. I found it fun and bittersweet. I will also share my responses so you can get a glimpse of “ME”.

So here’s a little bit of my journey…

Back To Basics

This exercise has 3 components:

1.  Past: Take a trip down memory lane, to a time when things were simpler. Write down single words or short phrases that describe a time when you felt joy and peace.

My Response:

~ A Snapshot Into My Past ~

Ahh…the simple life! Growing up on a farm in rural Indiana was more of a common sense, laid back, no worries and people focused kind of life. Everyone knew your name and genuinely cared. The farmers were up way before sunrise and you learned what it meant to ‘put in a hard days work’.

Ahh…the memories…
pig roasts picking blackberries CLIMBING TREES shucking corn fishing in the Iroquois river RIDING IN THE RED JEEP ON THE RIVER BANK riding the snow mobile PLAYING CARDS the smell of Old Spice on my dad leaning my head on my mom’s shoulder walking through rows of corn to take my dad a sack lunch lots of food Dancing to “Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog” MAKING APPLESAUCE WITH MY MOM swimming in the river driving the pick-up truck hayrides plows & combines picking wild flowers walking the fields picking up rocks chocolate coconut eggs jumping in mounds of freshly picked corn racking & jumping in mounds of leaves AUTUMN the sound of the train rattling by late at night running bare foot in acres of green grass sitting on a high branch eating cherries baseball with my brothers, sisters and cousins walking along the railroad tracks with Grandpa the smell of black dirt

2.  Present: Now, do the same thing in your current life. Write down single words or short phrases that describe simple things that you love, brings you joy, or gives you peace.

My Response:

~ A Snapshot Into My Current Life ~

Ahh…the simple life!  Umm… Is there such a concept anymore? Hmm….Yes, life is busy, hectic, and time seems to have wings. It goes by so fast.  But–IT CAN BE FOUND!  It didn’t take me very long to jot down some things that I love. Actually this was quite fun and a great escape. When life gets crazy or I feel overwhelmed, I just think of one of life’s simple pleasures–better yet–to take action and actually do one of them.

COFFEE warm chocolate chip cookies Watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” A Good Laugh meatloaf & mashed potatoes DECLUTTERING HUGS humming birds GOD cheese & crackers sunshine DATE NIGHT WITH MY HUSBAND MY BIBLE candles TIME WITH FAMILY chocolate cake antiques a clean home PASTA bread the feeling I get after a workout the smell of spring flowers WATER hot showersPLAYING WITH MY DOGS sage dressing TV LAND The twilight Zone Raymond ROOT BEER FLOATS baskets ORGANIZING Mexican food SUNDAY MORNINGS Seinfield WATCHING MY CHILDREN GROW-UP FUNNY STORIES containers for stuff PIZZA AND MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE FAMILY EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT good thriller and adventure movies COMEDY PJs when  everything is in it’s place LAUGHTER Chipolte peppers green olives DECORATING sleeping THE SMELLS OF CHRISTMAS Worship writing & planning watching “Marley and Me” CALENDARS PRAYER chocolate extreme blizzard STARBUCKS VANILLA LATTE READING The feeling of a full tummy FRIENDS & FAMILY GIVING GIFTS notebooks watching “The Sound of Music“ being creative FAMILY GAME NIGHT the feeling you get when you finish decorating or painting a room MARKING OFF THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST pancakes maple syrup bacon THE SMELL OF COFFEE the sound of cooking PEOPLE A GOOD TALK WITH A FRIEND This is where I find God—In A Place Of Simplicity!

3.  Take-Aways: Look at both lists and write down 3 things that you find that are important in life. Things that when you sort through the current chaos of your life, you know are what really matters. I call them my “G0-TO-PLACES”!

My Response:

• God/Faith (actually this is a non-negotiable for me for everyday life.)

• Family/People/Relationships

• Simplicity

I took my 3 Go-To-Places and developed 4 PRACTICAL ACTIONS that I can do every day.

1. Pray for wisdom
2. Laugh a lot
3. Love deeply
4. Let go of ‘stuff’ (in your home and in your head)

Try this little exercise the next time you are feeling ‘out of sorts’ or overwhelmed with life. It will help put things back into perspective. ENJOY!

Thanks for letting me share a little of myself with you. I pray you will be inspired by this glimpse into my life and will join me in striving to Live Unscrambled! Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Candy

This is the 7th article in the series Lifestyle Organizing (this is the last article in this series, yay!). You will find a complete list of topics with links at the bottom of this article.

If you’ve been following this series then you know how valuable knowing your “Life” style and challenges can be. Basically your discoveries are tools to help you to prepare your road map to a simplified, organized life.

Today we focus on “The Plan”!  Finally—this is the best part. Hopefully the process of making your plan will motivate you to follow through and reach your goals. It will be FUN!

TUL – Take Action!

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

While performing this action—Be Authentic, Keep An Open Mind, Make It Simple, Be Realistic, Learn to Say NO, Make It Fun, and Reward Yourself. See Guidelines.

THE PLAN

THE PROCESS:  The process of making your goals a reality acts like a funnel. You will develop a “Working List” of your goals (the top of the funnel) As you work your way down your list, sorting and prioritizing, your goals are refined and broken down into manageable tasks. This allows you to plan your current week and day (the narrowest part or tip of the funnel).

1.  Decide on a time management system

• If you are a visual person, you might choose a paper system or a big white board to write things on.
• Or if you are a creative person and love color, you might color code your days and use lots of symbols and such to jazz it up!
• Love technology? There are lots of planning/calendar systems available such as MS Outlook or Google Calendar.
• Choose something that fits your style and works for you.

2.  Collect your goals from your “Big List” (Master List)

• Organize them into broad categories that are specific and make sense to you.
• Here are a few examples:  Home/Household, Finances, Family, Work, Personal Development ,  etc…
• As you put them into categories; do a “pre- sort” for each category. Focus on your top 3 or 4 goals.  This is your “Working List”- you will refer to this list often, and it will change as your needs/goals change.

3.  Prioritize

You will identify your highest priority goals as you go through your “Working List”.

• Do a budget and time check – if you haven’t done this step yet, take the time to do it now. Rule out goals that are not feasible for you to accomplish at this time.
• Using your “Working List”, take your top goals from each category and check that they meet your budget and time constraints.
• You should consider your alternative approaches or options. Example – what if one of your goals is to get in shape, but the cost of a gym membership won’t fit in your budget? Maybe an alternative would be to buy a good pair of running shoes and start jogging. And since this is for your health, a non-negotiable for you, you will make the time to jog after work.
• Hmm…this sounds like a goal that is feasible – within your budget and time constraints. You determine it is a top priority.

4.  Monthly goals

Now we start to get more specific with setting goals.

Goals are specific and time bound. If one of your goals for March is “to lose weight” that is not a goal. But “to lose 5 pounds by March 31^st” is a goal. Another example could be “to start jogging and work up to 30 minutes three days a week by March 31^st.

From your list of top priorities, determine the number of goals you think you can accomplish in a month. How many goals you choose will depend on:

• Your specific list of goals
• Level of difficulty – how much time is involved
• Your preference/personality/approach
  • Maybe you want to select just 1 or 2 goals per month to allow you to really focus and build them into your life until they become a habit.
  • Or, you decide you would rather take on a lot of smaller tasks that have been ‘hanging over your head and you just want to knock them out’!
  • Your approach can vary from month to month…depending on what you want to accomplish.
  • You can enter/pencil these in your monthly calendar of choice. This will allow you to view your ‘Month At A Glance’.
  • Don’t forget to enter obligations, appointments etc., that you already know are coming up for that month.

5.  Refine Your Goals

Weekly: Put more detail to your goals and enter in your planner for the current week.

• Break your monthly goals into manageable tasks/steps that you could accomplish in a week.

• Let’s look at the “get in shape goal” for example (lose 5 lbs. and jog for 30 minutes) – here’s an idea of what it might look for the week:
  • Monday, Wednesday, and Friday – jog after work for 20 minutes
  • Thursday evening – Plan a healthy menu and snacks/make grocery list for the week.
  • Saturday morning – Grocery shop and prep work for weekly meals/snacks.

• You decide to increase your jog time by 5 minutes for the next week, and another 5 minutes the following week.
• Yay! Now you can start to see your goal unfolding week by week.
• Don’t forget to enter obligations, appointments etc., that you already know are coming up for this week.

Daily: This is really where you fine tune your goals/projects/tasks.

Again, use your calendar/planner of choice. Make a detailed To-Do list for the day. I find that it is best to do it the night before and then make adjustments in the morning if needed.

• Your  Monday may look something like this:
  • Wake at 6 a.m.
  • Do a load of laundry
  • Quiet Time
  • Work 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
  • Home by 6:00 p.m.
  • Jog 20 minutes
  • Make dinner/clean kitchen
  • Family time/help kids with homework
  • Tidy-up family room
  • Prepare for next day: to-do list, lunch for work, set out clothes, check bookbags

• Don’t forget to block out time for work, appointments, kids’ activities, daily household tasks like paying bills, etc.

SUGGESTION: Try to incorporate systems into your plan that will EMPOWER YOU!  Example: set a regular time to declutter your home, make a cleaning schedule, or plan a whole month of meals, etc…  Think about what you need and work it into your plan if you can.  It will make a HUGE IMPACT!

This concludes this series on Lifestyle Organizing. I truly hope and pray that you have found it helpful and will decide to make your unique plan for your life. Enjoy! You can unscramble the pieces of your everyday life and put back only what fits, in an organized way, so you can easily maintain your life. If something doesn’t fit, re-evaluate it. Your goals should align with your Life Mission Statement.

Of course making the plan is not what gets you more organized to live a simplified, peaceful life.  YOU HAVE TO IMPLEMENT IT AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!

To Your Success!

I’ll leave you with this:

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal. ~ Elbert Hubbard

You can do this and we can do it together!

Candy

Please leave a comment. What are your thoughts? Have you made a Lifestyle Organizing Plan?

Topics covered in this series:

• Introduction: Lifestyle Organizing—A New Way to Think

• Guidelines for Lifestyle Organizing

• Discovering Your “Life” Style (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

• Discovering Your Challenges

• The Plan: Putting It All Together

This is the 6th article in the series Lifestyle Organizing (only 1 more article to go in this series, yay!). You will find a complete list of topics with links at the bottom of this article.

We are almost through with the discovery phase of Lifestyle Organizing. Remember—examining various areas of your life will help you discover useful and valuable information about yourself.  Collectively, this information will enable you to reflect your true self in your unique, sustainable, organizing plan.

In this article you will examine the last area of your life that is crucial before you actually start making and implementing your Lifestyle Organizing Plan.

Discovering Your Challenges

Do you know your personal challenges or obstacles that could interfere with accomplishing your goals?

First, let me note that there is a lot I could say about this topic. The purpose of this article is to encourage you to explore your potential pitfalls. It is my hope that once you have insight into those, you would resolve your personal challenges. Hopefully, this will propel you to great accomplishments.

I will mention and briefly explain some common obstacles. If you did any of the previous Take Actions from this series, you may have already discovered some issues that currently are preventing you from achieving your goals. There may be others that are unique to you but I hope this article serves as a launching pad to help you in this area.

So let’s jump right into the Take Action…

TUL – Take Action!

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

While performing this action—Be Authentic, Keep An Open Mind, Make It Simple, Be Realistic, Learn to Say NO, Make It Fun, and Reward Yourself. See Guidelines.

There are 6 common areas of potential obstacles. Reflect on each one as well as any others that come to mind.

1.  Yourself

Sometimes our biggest obstacle is ‘our self’. There are a large number of potential issues regarding our ‘psyche’ —from simple ones that are easily remedied to more difficult ones that require more in-depth understanding and solutions. (If you feel that your personal obstacles are beyond what you can handle, please seek the help of a professional – i.e. Professional Organizer, Counselor, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Financial Planner).

Here are a few things to contemplate…

• Attitude

~ Do you have a positive ‘self-talk’?
~ Do you rise up to meet your challenges?
~ What is your general outlook on life?
~ Are you willing to explore new ideas and ways of doing things?
~ Are you a people pleaser? Have trouble saying no?

• Misconceptions- maybe there are some beliefs you hold that are stifling your progress.

~ People are ‘born organized’ and since you are not, that you are doomed to stay disorganized.
~ You must fit into a certain style or mode of organizing—“the one-way-fits-all” myth.
~ You have to keep everything ‘just right’ or ‘perfect’.
~ It costs a lot of money to get organized.
~ Professional Organizers will judge you or “tell all”.
~ Any others???

• Trouble Focusing

~ Easily distracted
~ Forgetfulness
~ ADD/ADHD

2.  Time

Do you just need more T I M E? Here are a few things to contemplate…

• Time Clutter – do you suffer from overdoing, overachieving, time-wasting, or perfectionism?
• Lack of Planning – not taking the time to plan, unrealistic or misjudging the amount of time involved.
• Failure to Adequately Prioritize – your use of time doesn’t match your priorities.
• Procrastination – you delay doing the things you should be doing.
• “Have-To” versus “Want-To” – do you maintain a proper balance between your “Have-to’s” and your “Want-to’s”?
• Excessive Multi-Tasking – do you lose time and efficiency by jumping back and forth between multiple tasks too frequently?

3.  Finances

Do you just need more M O N E Y? Assuming you made a budget, here are a few things to contemplate…

• Do you have trouble with impulse buying?
• Have you intentionally trimmed wasteful spending?
• Do your life priorities match your spending patterns/habits?
• Can you increase your income?
• Can you decrease your expenses?

4.  Environment, Family Dynamics and Stage of Life

Here are a few things to contemplate…

• What’s your comfort level with your space? Does it make you feel peaceful?
• Is your home cluttered and you don’t know where to start?
• Do you have to fit all your belongings in a small space?
• Do you have children or parents living with you?
• Do you have family members with special needs?
• Are you at a point in life where you need to downsize or right-size?

5.  Trial and Error, Life Experiences

Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow through your life experiences. What has life taught you? What works for you and doesn’t work for you? Here are a few things to contemplate…

• I’ve learned not to go shopping with _____ because I wind up buying more stuff than I need.
• I learned to put my workout clothes next to my shoes so I don’t forget them in the morning.
• I’ve learned that I am more motivated to stay organized when I work one-on-one with a partner or coach.
• I’ve learned that I prefer to do work by myself but need some advice or guidance.
• I’ve learned that I get more done when I write things down and put it on my calendar.
• Etc., etc., etc.

6.  Support System

Having a good support system in place will make a difference to your success. What people do you have in your life to encourage and support you? Here are a few people to contemplate…

• Spouse and family
• Good friend
• Professional Organizer
• Life Coach
• Other professionals

Whew!—that’s it for now. If you honestly assess and identify your challenges, then the solutions will probably be apparent to you. Some of the solutions will be easier to implement than others. You will see how your challenges impact your plan in the next article.

Next Week’s Topic

The Plan: Putting It All Together

I’ll leave you with this:

When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. ~ Steve Wright

You can do this and we can do it together!

Candy

Please leave a comment. What are your thoughts? I would love to know if you’re doing the “Take Actions” and if you find them helpful. Thanks and until next time…

Topics covered in this series:

• Introduction: Lifestyle Organizing—A New Way to Think

• Guidelines for Lifestyle Organizing

• Discovering Your “Life” Style (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

• Discovering Your Challenges

• The Plan: Putting It All Together

This is the 5^th article in the series Lifestyle Organizing. You will find a complete list of topics with links at the bottom of this article.

I divided Discovering Your “Life” Style into 3 parts—I don’t want to overwhelm you by giving a ton of information all at once. This will allow you time to take it all in and really process each step.

Recall that: Lifestyle Organizing is a progressive plan of organizing your mind, home, and life around who you are and the way you live or want to live. It is a road map of your life which means you follow a path to reach your goals. It is a state of resolve. It is a well thought-out process of examining your life and making a realistic plan with achievable goals.

Assuming you did the Take Actions from part 1 and part 2—you should have examined and identified a sense of direction and/or changes you want to make and have a spreadsheet of goals prioritized with time and financial considerations in mind.

Today you will examine an area of your life that is the most important. It will set the stage for what systems, plans and people you put in your life— built around you so you can live your best life.

Know Your Preferences and Thinking Process

Now that you’ve determined you want to work toward your goals for positive change in your life—I’m sure you are wondering how you are going to accomplish this! On top of the things you’ve already identified, you have: daily demands, relationships, never ending to-do lists, and financial responsibility. How will you do it all? How does it all come together?

Well the answer to that is YOU! It All Starts With Your Mind! Before you build your strategy and make your plan, you should know your thinking patterns, processes, and your preferences. These will guide you to a plan that works for you.

TUL – Take Action!

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

While performing this action—Be Authentic, Keep An Open Mind, Make It Fun, and Reward Yourself. See Guidelines.

Peek into your mind—How do you look at life? How do you process or take in information? What will work for you when you begin making your plan? Honestly look at your preferences and the way you think. (You may want to take notes.)

There is no right way or wrong way to go about organizing your mind, home and life. However, once you examine your thinking patterns, processes, and preferences in the following areas of your life (listed below); you will probably find areas that don’t serve you well. You may discover destructive habits and patterns—as you uncover them, seek to change them yourself or enlist the help of a professional if needed. Doing this will add value and productivity to your life.

Here are the areas to consider:

1.  Spiritual Connection?

• How do you draw your strength?
• Who do you go to for wisdom?
• Have you given this some thought? Are you putting it into practice?

As I have stated in my Philosophy - I’ve discovered that “Wholeness, peace, and joy comes from the daily renewing of the mind ~ seeking God and all His wisdom ~ then you can express that outwardly in your environment”.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12:2

Attitude— Mind over Matter. I believe attitude is linked to our beliefs, convictions, values, and morals. We all put our hopes, dreams, desires, and beliefs in something. Most of us have formed “patterns” in our attitude as time goes by—some good and some not so good. Evaluate yours—is yours serving you well and adding value to your life or is it an obstacle and making you miserable? Choose well—Be Positive, Determined, Focused, and Motivated! It can make all the difference in achieving your goals and help you to Live Unscrambled.

2.  Possessions?

• Do you know why you keep the things you do?
• Do you need or use them—meaning does it have a purpose and is it useful to you or family members?
• Do you keep things because you just love them?
• It is easy to get out of balance with our possessions; sometimes we develop unhealthy emotional attachments to things that shouldn’t be.
• Give yourself permission to clear out the clutter.

3.  Organizing Style?

Do what makes sense to you and reflects your unique self.

• Are you the creative artsy type? Like lots of color?
• Do you think your drinking glasses belong with your dinner plates so you don’t have to open another cabinet? Or do you think ‘like’ things should be together?
• Do you prefer to do the work of organizing your home yourself with the assistance of a coach? Or do you prefer working together with someone to help with the hands-on work? Or do you think, “someone just do it all for me, I just want it done”?
• Do you prefer for ‘your stuff’ be out in the open? Or out of sight?
• Do you think, “A place for everything and everything in its place”? Or do you think, “A little messiness is okay”?
• Do you like your files in a file cabinet, categorized and labeled alphabetically? Or do you prefer piles?
• Are you motivated by a home office that is aesthetically pleasing? Love having ‘your stuff’ around you when you work? Or do you think, “It doesn’t matter as long as I know where things are”?
• Do like everything to match and have a certain style? Or are you an eclectic/anything goes kind of person?

4.  Organizing Time?

• Are you a procrastinator?
• What makes you focused and motivated?
• Are you more productive if you schedule your projects in chunks of time or broken down into small pieces?
• Do you use planners, calendars, and organizers to help keep you organized? If so, electronic, paper, or both?
• Do you prefer to work on 1 project at a time? Or several—multitasking?
• Do you know your natural rhythms? When are you at your best and more productive: Early mornings? Evenings? Late nights?

5.  Personality?

• Do you prefer to be structured and have lots of lists? Or do you prefer less structure, i.e. rely on your memory and make as few lists as possible?
• Do you thrive on variety? Or like consistency?
• Are you logical thinker? Methodical? Or are you a ‘live and learn’ kind of person? Fly by the seat of your pants, preferring options and flexibility?
• Are you a perfectionist? Love details? Or do you think things like, “There, that is good enough, at least it’s done, let’s move on to the next thing”?
• Are you an Out-Of-The-Box thinker? Or think black and white (clear cut answers and ways to solve problems)?
• Are you decisive? Or do you find it difficult making decisions and need someone to help you?
• Are you constantly saying YES to things? Doing things to ‘impress’ a specific person? Do your preferences and thinking patterns reflect YOU or SOMEONE ELSE?
• What is your learning style: Auditory (listening)? Visual (watching/reading)? Kinesthetic (hands-on)?

Whew! We are almost there! You will really appreciate taking the time to discover these valuable insights about yourself when it’s time to make your plan and strategy. It will be much easier on you and could even be fun!

Next Week’s Topic

Discovering Your Challenges

I’ll leave you with this:

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. ~Henry David Thoreau

You can do this and we can do it together!

Candy

Please leave a comment. What are your thoughts? I would love to know if you’re doing the “Take Actions” and if you find them helpful. Thanks and until next time…

Topics covered in this series:

• Introduction: Lifestyle Organizing—A New Way to Think

• Guidelines for Lifestyle Organizing

• Discovering Your “Life” Style (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

• Discovering Your Challenges

• The Plan: Putting It All Together

This is the 4th article in the series Lifestyle Organizing. You will find a complete list of topics with links at the bottom of this article.

I divided Discovering Your “Life” Style into 3 parts—I don’t want to overwhelm you by giving a ton of information all at once. This will allow you time to take it all in and really process each step.

Recall from Part 1 of Discovering Your “Life” Style—that the best way to ensure change in your life is to discover Your Unique Self. Using guidelines while examining different aspects of your life will give you insight into where you’ve been and where you want/need to go. In the “Take Action”, you took an internal inventory of your unique self; today you will examine Your Financial Ability and Your Time Constraints.

Finances and time are the main stressors in life, aren’t they?! It seems like everything in life requires your money, time, or both.  If you’re like most people, you probably think, “If I just had X more time or X more money, I could get the things on “My Big List” done. Really?

Well, what if it’s just a matter of managing the time and money you have… better — based on priorities — consciously and wisely chosen, in an organized manner?

First you need to have an accurate picture of your time and the resources you have available.  I am going to ask you some questions regarding money and time and then give you a “Take Action” project.

Know Your Financial Ability

• Do you know your yearly income? Monthly? Weekly?
• Do have a household budget? Do you stick to it?
• Have you included or do you have room in your household budget for the items you wrote in your notebook (from “Take Action” part 1)? Do you know the amount of money you are ABLE to allocate to the items on this list?

Know Your Time Constraints

• How much time do you put into work? Part-time: 10, 15 or 20 hours? Full time: 40, 50 hours or more?
• Relationships require time… Are your relationships suffering from “not having enough time”?
• If you have children, are they involved in activities that require your time?
• What are the other activities on your plate that require your time?
• Do you have any free time?

TUL – Take Action!

TULs (Tools to Unscramble Life) – useful tips, tasks, ideas, or information to help you in your quest to make life simpler.

While performing this action—Be Realistic, Keep an Open Mind, Make It Simple and Easy, Learn to Say NO! Make It Fun, and Reward Yourself. See Guidelines.

If you did the Take Action in Part 1, no doubt you’ve identified several projects, dreams, new directions or changes for your life.

Now it’s time to organize them…

The general idea here is to discover your financial and time picture for what you have identified as being important to you. Later, you will merge these items into your everyday life to create a Big List or Master List. At that point you will check it against this list for overall budget, time, and priorities.

Side Note: Your Big List consists of ALL goals– your “everyday life goals” i.e. working, taking care of children, maintaining your household, items/goals already committed to, etc., as well as any “I wish I had time for” goals and dreams.

Steps:

1. Using the list you created from the Take Action (Part 1), write each item out as a specific, measurable goal.
2. Open an excel spreadsheet (or if you prefer, you can use paper and pencil).
3. Make 4 columns and label them: Goals, Cost, Time, and Priority.
4. List your goals (use sub-lists if needed).
5. Enter the cost and time estimates for each goal.
6. Enter the priority of each goal. You will have to make the decisions that are required to truly prioritize—they can’t all be priority #1. (Use your guidelines!)

Above is an example of how to organize your goals. It’s just a partial list using Goal #1, lose weight/get in shape (highlighted). Don’t make it complicated! Just use it as a guide to help you see the “Big Picture”. (i.e. No time is entered in gym cost because it is known but you will need to add time if you plan to research various gyms. Also, I didn’t put a cost for creating a healthier menu because food should already be budgeted for–you may even save money!) You get the idea?

Next Week’s Topic

Discovering Your “Life” Style (Part 3) —Know Your Preferences and Thinking Process

I’ll leave you with this:

There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.~ Logan Pearsall Smith

You can do this and we can do it together!

Candy

(P.S. I hope you are beginning to see how and why Lifestyle Organizing–organizing your mind, home and life–around Your Unique Self is important. Just wait until you make a plan and actually start implementing it!  How FUN!)

Please leave a comment. What are your thoughts? I would love to know if you’re doing the “Take Actions” and if you find them helpful. Thanks and until next time…

Topics covered in this series:

• Introduction: Lifestyle Organizing—A New Way to Think

• Guidelines for Lifestyle Organizing

• Discovering Your “Life” Style (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

• Discovering Your Challenges

• The Plan: Putting It All Together