A Strange and Wondrous Sight

Jae's Home Office De-Cluttering Journey ~ Part 5

Today I am going to share a personal story that strengthens my belief that, just as clutter begets more clutter, de-cluttering can inspire more de-cluttering ... for anyone.

Sunday morning, I picked up my cup of coffee, and I sauntered into our living room. Sitting in my chair, I leaned back, put my feet up on the ottoman, and sighed into cushioned comfort. I was all ready to spend a leisurely hour listening to the morning news. Then, as I was raising my cup to take that first sip of coffee, out of the corner of my right eye, I beheld a strange and wondrous sight. It was so strange, and so wondrous, that I just stopped.

Frozen in place, with my coffee cup poised about a foot from my open mouth, I slowly turned my head to try to fully comprehend ~ to try to make some sense out of ~ what I thought I was seeing. As I heard my husband walk into the room to join me, I still could not take my eyes off this unusual vision. And, as he sat down on the couch, I cautiously asked ...

"Am I still dreaming? Or did you really clean up the coffee table?"

To which he replied offhandedly, "Yeah. I did it last night while you were sleeping. The piles were getting kind of high, and all of your office clean-up kind of motivated me."

I was speechless ... which any of my friends will assure you does not happen often.

Now, this certainly is not a designer-neat coffee table. But to my husband ~ the organizationally-challenged "Oscar Madison" of this real-life Odd Couple ~ this is extreme neatness.


And, to celebrate this moment of pure, unexpected, organizational delight, I have provided a closeup picture. Am I going a bit overboard about this? Yes, I am. But let me put this vision into perspective for you. Some of you may be able to relate.


Up until this amazing view ~ where the piles of magazines are each only two inches high ~ those three piles ranged in height from six to twelve inches! They created a sort of paper stairway monument to all of the information my husband had gleaned from them. And he really does read every one of his magazines cover to cover. Hey, he's a geek ~ an information junkie. He's more concerned about organizing what's inside his head than what's on the coffee table. Thankfully, over our 25 years together, this Ms. Neat and Mr. Geek have learned how to respect each other's neatness comfort zones.

But, back to my Sunday morning story of the Strange and Wondrous Sight.

As I finally managed to take that first sip of coffee, there were even more surprises for me. Not only did my husband "neaten up" the coffee table while I slept Saturday night, but he also removed all of the address labels from each of those magazines. This time-consuming process ~ which I have done many times ~ created a huge pile of recyclables ready to go out the front door. He wasn't interested in saving any of them ~ or any of the previous issues that had already been saved!

Oh yes, up until now, we have saved them! Usually, when those piles on the coffee table get over 12 inches high, the magazines get transferred into this bookcase, where the last 12 months of each magazine is stored.

Years ago, I bought these wonderful, inexpensive cardboard magazine holders ~ often called Banker Boxes. You can tell by how worn they are, that they have been around for awhile ... at least 20 years. So obviously, they are extremely durable. Today, they are also available in many different sizes, colors and construction materials ~ made of not only cardboard, but plastic and very sturdy fiberboard.

In this small storage cabinet with doors, I also use Banker Boxes to store small gift bags, tissue paper, and gift tags. They work great for old research papers too, which was helpful when I was a student.

And, even my old journals are easily, and neatly stored together in this simple organizing product. So, try them. You'll like them!

But, back to the Sunday morning story ...

My husband had even one more surprise for me. For his grand finale, the love of my life proceeded to explain that in going through this spontaneous de-cluttering process, he realized that he did not need to receive all of those car magazines anymore. Just about anything he needed to know, he could find online. Thus, we could cancel all of the subscriptions except one! He still wanted that one magazine because it was his favorite, and he just enjoyed laying back and leisurely reading it. BUT, we did not have to keep months of back issues even of that favorite magazine.

At that point, I was thinking to myself, "If this is some kind of sign of a space alien body invasion, I am not reporting it."

Then, finally, my Organizer Self snapped out her surprise-induced stupor and realized with an internal scream, "FREE SHELF SPACE!" Which I desperately needed because of the dilemma I was facing in my home office de-cluttering project.

Remember where we left off last time?
In front of the "Guilty as Charged Case"?

Well I have made a good deal of progress on that case. I sorted through and cleared away a couple of easy-to-deal-with boxes on the shelves. Plus I went through that big box sitting on the floor with the clutter on top of it. Whoohoo!

However, by clearing away that box on the floor, I found a classic organizational challenge behind it. I must have been unconsciously trying to shield myself from the trauma when I put that box on the floor.

The newly-placed post-it labels on those two white file boxes read "Family Photos" and "Our Photography". And inside of them is the same dilemma many families face ... how to keep our favorite photos in a way that offers easy, organized access to our cherished family memories and other favorite snapshots.

With my husband giving me the unexpected gift of freed up shelf space in our living room, the first part of my photo storage dilemma was solved. Up until that morning, I had been really stumped as to where I was going to store the contents of those boxes of photos. Now my only concern is ...

What kind of photo storage will eventually
be sitting on those freed up shelves?

I knew that I did not have anything that would work in that spot. And that's when it hit me.

I was going to have to go shopping.

I had been putting off the shopping trip because I wanted to make just one trip. I've been keeping a list of things I will need for "final touches" as I've been nearing the end of this project. But, this photo storage reorganization has to be addressed now ~ before Mr. Geek realizes what he has done.

Although there's lots of research to be done about photo storage before I walk into a store to touch and feel the products, I've have been totally re-inspired and re-energized by the strange and wondrous sight of a neat coffee table and an unexpected gift of Free Shelf Space.

Sigh!



Until next time ..

I wish for each you
a strange and wondrous sight of your own,
and an unexpected organizational gift
that is exactly what you need
to be inspired and energized.

Peace & Light,
Jae

Finding Humor Among the Clutter

Jae's Home Office De-Cluttering Journey ~ Part 4

Yes, it's a yard sale!

Knowing of the clutter crisis I was facing, last Saturday, my friend Connie was kind enough to invite me to join in on her family yard sale fun. It wound up being a beautiful day. I got to spend several hours with some friends, made a few bucks, and best of all ... I got rid of enough "stuff" to make a noticeable difference in my de-cluttering project. Most cool.

Meanwhile, back at the office ... the scene of the clutter crime ... look at this view of what we have accomplished so far!


I say "we" have accomplished because I couldn't have gotten this much done without all of you supporting me.

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a lot of surprising schedule changes and some unexpected, added commitments. While it was mostly good stuff, it still stole time away from The Project. Each time that I stood in my office doorway ~ lamenting that yet another day had gone by with nothing accomplished ~ I felt more and more like I was losing sight of my vision of a clutter-free, peaceful place to work.

Isn't that how we get side-tracked from many of our personal goals and projects? When our lives require us to re-prioritize our To Do List, it is often the thing which we are doing just for ourselves that gets re-prioritized to the very bottom of the list. And, once we are at the bottom of the list, it's pretty easy for us to slip off of that list all together. That is, unless we have someone ~ or better yet a few someones ~ to help us get back on track.

Thankfully, all I had to do was look back at my previous conversations with you to be reminded of how far I have come, and thus, recapture the vision and the energy to pick up where I left off. For instance, I was reminded from the pictures I took for our conversations that my file cabinet used to look like this. Notice that mess strewn across the top.


Now, after a lot of picking up, sorting through, tossing out, shredding and recycling, consolidating and re-filing, the top of my filing cabinet looks like this.


That filing holder now neatly holds information on current projects. And, inside of the top drawer, it now looks like this. Trust me, the bottom drawer looks equally neat and organized.


I was also reminded about this chaotic pile of clutter that stretched from beside my desk, straight along the wall, in between that bookcase and the couch, and right up to the wall behind the couch.


And now, it has been reduced to these three separate "staging" piles.



The middle pile contains things for my granddaughter to use in her very first apartment, which she is search right now. The box of books to the right will be donated. And once those two piles are gone, the remaining pile will become another decorative hidden storage solution. I just love creating those!

And as I complete this walk down "Remind Myself Lane," we arrive back to the place where we left off last time. At this somewhat organized, mostly boxed-up, bookcase full of clutter, which I have named the "Guilty as Charged Case."

"Yes, that is my clutter! I confess, I did it.
But, I was insane at the time!"

Hey, you have to find humor wherever you can in this process.

And, that may be the most important key ~ the "get out of clutter free" key. To find humor within ourselves and with others. And, to seek out support from friends and family who can help us see the progress we are making, particularly when we are incapable of seeing it ourselves.

When our personal projects are quickly falling toward the bottom of our To Do List, the best "To Do" that we can make ourselves actually Do is to get on the phone with someone who will make us laugh. And better than just talking on the phone, we need to invite someone over, with whom we can comically sneer at that "Guilty as Charged Case" even when all we want to do is beat our fists against it and burst into tears. Okay, maybe that was just a little too melodramatic. But you get the idea.

So now, as I begin the fifth week of a project that I had anticipated would take "at least three weeks," I have written a new "To Do" right at the top of my list. And, I've already done it! I called and left a message for the friend with whom I usually laugh the most. When she calls back, I'm going to invite her over to help me laugh my way through a good portion of my "Guilty as Charged Case."

She is going to do for me what I try to do for my clutter clients. When their de-clutter project feels like it's just too much and they start losing sight of their original vision, I find reasons for us to laugh.

And we all absolutely need to laugh ... at our clutter and ourselves. We need to ask ourselves and our laughing friend, "What was I thinking?" as we shake our heads and put that "whatever" into the "It's a Goner Box". We need to keep ourselves light as our de-cluttering process begins to lighten the atmosphere of the room around us.

And this approach is not only applicable to our "clutter crimes". Sharing humor with a trusted friend or family member can get us through some of the most challenging times of our lives.

So I invite you to take a moment.

What is on your To Do List that
could be helped along by a bit of humor?

Now call that laughter-filled friend or relative,
and make a date to laugh away
your most challenging pile of clutter
or
to lighten your heaviest inner feelings.

May your "It's a Goner Box" be filled with
things you no longer want or need.

May your heart be filled with memories of
a "laugh till you cry" day with someone dear to you.

And most of all, don't forget to take some pictures.

Peace & Light to You,
Jae

Life's Still Kinda Crazy, but DE-Cluttering is Happening.

Jae's Home Office De-Cluttering Journey ~ Part 3

Alright, I admit it. I goofed off. That's why there was no de-cluttering update posted last Friday. Last week was completely filled; a big de-cluttering job for a client on Monday, and then on Tuesday . . .

Hold on!
Wait a minute!
What am I saying?

I have not been goofing off.

Last week was a crazy week, but I still managed to do at least one thing toward de-cluttering my home office everyday. Except Friday (which is the day I usually write to you). So, what did I do on Friday instead of writing?

I took care of myself.
By sitting on a lake-side dock with this view.

My dear friend, Leslie, called me on Tuesday to see if I would like to go with her on Friday to Lake George for a micro-vacation in the Adirondacks. Considering how exhausted and achy my body felt at that moment, I had to say yes. I still had a big meeting ahead of me on Thursday, but I decided that for my own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, Friday had to be a day of relaxation and replenishing.

So, we sat by the lake.
And we sat in this screen house with lake views
like this one all around us.

And we relaxed, and we laughed, and we did a bunch of astrology charts, and just caught up on each others' thoughts and feelings, and hopes and ideas. So, when I returned home late that night, I felt revitalized and renewed.

And, since I was once again able to think clearly and move without aching, I could face my busy weekend and then return to my de-cluttering project with renewed energy and creative ideas.

Let's look at how I've been doing on some of the goals I set for myself last time.

Goal One
Open up three shelves worth of bookcase space.

I have managed to box up four shelves worth of books to be donated or sold. In doing so I was able to switch a four-shelf bookcase with this three-shelf bookcase.


Now, the top shelf of the lower bookcase can be used as an end-table for a visitor to set a drink on. And the lamp will now cast a closer and brighter light for reading.

You are probably wondering what happened to the four-shelf bookcase. More on that later.

Goal Two
Reclaim 24 inches of filing space by
sorting through my filing drawers and
purging any papers that are no longer necessary.

We started this last time. Since then, I have sorted through everything that was inside all but one of my file drawers. I have reclaimed about 22 inches of filing space. The last drawer is my archived financial records. I doubt I can throw out anything in that draw, but I can condense the space through changing the way I store the files. I'm still hoping to be able to get those last 2 inches of reclaimed space. After all, I'll need it for my 2008 files.

Goal Three
Re-file and re-store things in different ways,
using Binders and Decorative Hidden Storage solutions.

Binders: In going through all of my papers and getting rid of things that I no longer need or will use, I have reclaimed a whole pile of hanging files and empty binders ~ both 1 inch and 1.5 inch sizes.


I will be able to use these binders to organize papers with like-information and then store the binders in my file cabinets. So part one of Goal Three still needs to be completed.

Decorative Hidden Storage: This part of goal three is complete. When we left off last time, I was just opening my office closet to reveal a pile of plastic storage drawers that were filled with stuff ~ both paper filing and fabric (I'm also a “craft” person).

After my purging extravaganza, I realized that much of the filing in here was of the archival type; that is, things that I need to keep, but will rarely access.

So, I turned to this hidden storage place.

The table is a fiberboard, screw-together accent piece. The box of my artwork on the floor is something I already had plans to reorganize anyway. The wooden box on the shelf holds my collection of tarot cards. This box is decorative enough to be out in the open if necessary. Taking all of this into account, I decided that this hidden, narrow hiding place could be easily transformed into this.


I took one of the two plastic files cabinets from the closet. Then, all I had to do was take apart the table and place the tabletop on the file drawers. With the tablecloth and knick-knacks back in place, presto ~ hidden decorative storage space. AND, this also frees up space in the closet ... 25 inches of vertical space to be exact.

Not a bad outcome for 15 minutes of work.

So, that ends the report on my accomplishments as we reach two and a-half weeks into my De-Cluttering Project.

Oh, wait a minute ... the four-shelf bookcase that I moved. I almost forgot. Here it is ~ in full view to the right of my desk, and smack in my face whenever I turn to exit this room.


On the shelves and in front of the bookcase are big boxes, and more boxes, of things to sort through. Those small storage boxes remind me to free up more bookcase space. Once this bookcase is empty, it will be going to my office where I see clients. Ah-ha! More free floor space here!

Having to look at this “organized mess” each time I get up to leave my office will encourage me ~ okay, guilt me ~ into grabbing a box, taking it into my bedroom, and to start sorting. I have gotten very good at watching mindless TV and sorting at the same time.

So, that's really the end of my update. I'm hoping to be back on schedule next week.

Meanwhile, a few things for you to ponder.

Imagine:

Life is crazy with lots of “absolutely-have-to” appointments.
But you are feeling tired and achy
... you're on overload ...

A close friend unexpectedly calls
and invites you to take a micro-vacation.

What do you say?

What have you done to take care of you today?

Right now, take a moment to imagine
something you would really like to do.

It can be as simple as
sitting down in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea.

How about calling a friend to invite them to go sit by a lake?

Who would you call?

Go on, call your friend right now and set a date.

It's okay.
You'll accomplish so much more after you've replenished yourself.


Peace & Light,
Jae