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

Life Got Crazy. Clutter Happened. Now What?

Jae's Home Office De-Cluttering Journey ~ Part 2

Welcome back to my home office, where I am ready to begin my de-cluttering journey by opening this drawer.

Now, why should I bother with whatever is tucked away neatly, inside of this drawer when I have all sorts of cluttery messes sitting right out in the open all around me? Shouldn't I want to get rid of those visible messes first? After all, it is due to the visible messes that I have been avoiding this room. The answer to “why the drawer” can be found in how these annoying in-my-face messes began.

Fade back to August of 2005.

Yes, three years ago. No, my office has not been a cluttered mess since then.

Actually, it looked much worse when I first moved in, and for quite awhile thereafter. The problem has always been that the physical dimensions of this office are much smaller than the one I had moved out of. And, that previous office had been smaller than the office I had before that, in California. The continued, forced downsizing created a lurking clutter problem waiting to take over. This is the same problem that is faced by many retirees as they move from a house to a condo; or as a college student moves from home to a dorm room or shared apartment.

Since my husband and I moved to this place during a particularly busy time, I did some quick-fixes so I could at least find things and function. But as professional commitments picked up, the neatness factor deteriorated quickly. And, it soon became apparent that the main reason for that deterioration was due to a lack of storage space. In each of my other offices, I had a walk-in closet. The only closet I have here is two-thirds of your typical bedroom closet. The other third is taken up by a water heater.

So, as I open this file cabinet drawer, I am in search of ways to reclaim storage space. And of course, the only way to do that is to purge any papers that are no longer necessary.


Now, this is something I will actually enjoy, which is another reason I'm starting here. I love to throw things away. My slogan has always been, “When in doubt, try to find a reason to throw it out!” And as computer storage space has increased and become more dependable, I proclaim that slogan with even more fervor in my voice. I think this “toss it” attitude is probably because I had parents that never threw out anything. When my father died, my sister and I found his pay stubs from the depression years. No, I am not making this up!

But, I do digress.

I also want to reclaim some storage space in my bookcases. And as you can see by the open places on those shelves, I have already started the process.


This is probably the hardest thing for me. Both my husband and I love books. Whenever we move, there are more boxes of books than anything else. In my bedroom, there are two bookcases, plus a bookcase-headboard full of our favorite fiction books. My goal here is to open up at least three shelves worth of space. (I guess I'll be making a few more donation-visits to my local library.) I am sure that there are several options that reclaiming this shelving space will offer me. I will ponder those options while sorting through the papers from that filing drawer.

Now, here are the three piles of papers/files that I removed from the top drawer.

I'll probably put back about a third of this. And most of it will eventually be in binders.

(I love binders! We'll talk about the joy of binders next time.)

But for now, let's take all of this stuff to a place where there's more room to spread out.

WARNING!
If you carry clutter into another room.
Be sure you carry it all back out again.
Otherwise, you'll have two cluttered spaces.

So, the three piles have become one very tall pile, and I have started the sorting process. Opening each file and reviewing each sheet of paper, I sort them into one of four basic piles.

REUSE
These papers have a clean side. I will use them to print out drafts.

RECYCLE
These are non-confidential papers with both sides used,
and file folders that are very ragged.

SHRED
These are old confidential materials.

and

REFILE.

An hour and a half later, here is the result. Note that we now have six piles instead of four.


The two upper left piles are papers and file folders that I will reuse. The upper right pile goes into my recycling bin, and the lower right pile gets shredded.

Then there's a new category. The papers in the middle bottom row need to be looked over more carefully. Several things in that pile sparked some creative ideas for me. So, this is a pile of inspiration to look over at my leisure, with my feet up, and a cup of tea nearby.

The last pile goes back into the drawer.


I am thrilled to have reclaimed 12 inches worth of filing space. And there is the possibility of at least another 24 inches of space to be reclaimed from going through papers in the bottom file cabinet drawer and

these plastic file drawers behind the closet door.

Yes, it will be the same process all over again ~ meaning another three to four hours of sorting. But it will be worth it. And while I sort, I will be envisioning how all of this will be nice and neatly tucked away in perfect order using ...

Binders,
Box Bottom Hanging File Folders,
and
Decoratively Disguised Storage Ideas.

So, I invite you to stop by again soon.

Many thanks to those of you who have left comments
and shared stories about your own organizing journeys.

Peace & Light,
Jae

When Life Get's Crazy ... Clutter Happens

Jae's Home Office De-Cluttering Journey ~ Part 1

Considering that one of the services I offer through my Life Coaching practice is to help people de-clutter and organize their offices and living space, what I am about to share with you is ironic, surprising, and ah ... somewhat embarrassing. But ~ most of all ~ it's annoying on a daily basis.

This is my home office.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “What is she talking about? That's looks like a nice, inviting place to sit down. Why is this embarrassing or annoying?” But, the real questions that should be asked are, “What's wrong with this picture? Where is the floor? Where is the left wall? Where is the rest of the room?" Let me broaden the perspective for you.

Note the pile of clutter on our left.

Here's a closer look at that pile of stuff.
Not much floor space left, huh?

And here's another viewpoint.
Note the additional mess on the top of
the file cabinet beneath the window.

“But my desk is fairly neat,” Jae trys to console herself, pitifully.

And that fact would be a great relief if I didn't have to turn
toward this other mess in order to exit the room.

Christmas paper in July? Really, Jae!

We won't even discuss the vacuum-in-need-of-a-belt, which sits to the left of that pile of stuff on the floor. I just couldn't bring myself to include it in the picture. But then the Organizational Coach part of me felt guilty about not telling you the complete situation.

Now, anyone who has ever worked with me in my previous professional life as an Administrator can tell you that I absolutely hate a messy workspace.

BVS, who worked with me at the NYS Legislature and later at a lobbyist group, would tell you about the times I would stand up in the midst of a crazy day and declare the next 20 minutes to be a “clean up our space” break.

SAC, with whom I also worked in a couple of different places, would certainly recall a particularly challenging time in a basement office when I needed to organize my surroundings before I could even think about writing a promo piece for a workshop.

And when my old friend LBD ~ who has her own professional cleaning service ~ faced an apartment cleanup that included a home office stacked high with decades of papers and old office equipment, I was the first person she thought to call to manage the clean-out and organization of that room.

After all, having moved 27 times in my adult life ~ four of those cross-country relocations ~ I feel at home when creating order out of chaos. Which leads me to the question that I need to ask myself. This is the same basic question I ask all of my clutter clients.

“How did your space get this way?”

This question is not asked with an accusing, wagging finger to make us feel even worse about our surroundings than we already feel. Rather, the question is meant to help us “Victims of Our Own Clutter” (aka VoOOCs) bring an awareness to how we have been living day-to-day ~ to the life challenges that we probably have been dealing with that have fostered our personal "environmental dilemma" to occur.

These challenges can come in many forms.

They can be Physical. Like an injury, a chronic or long-term illness, or the last months of a pregnancy. Maybe we're under a lot of stress, and thus having trouble sleeping, which affects our energy level and our ability to keep up with household chores.

They can be Emotional. Like a personal loss of some kind ~ the death of someone close to us, the loss of our own job, or a family members', which affects our household income. Maybe there are other unexpected changes in our way of life ~ like having to move unexpectedly, or make room in our home for a family member in crisis. Any of these situations can bring on a depression, which makes physically dealing with even simple household tasks seem totally overwhelming and exhausting.

There can also be Intellectual challenges: Like an unusually heavy workload. Maybe there's a big project at work that's forcing us to do a lot of overtime. Or too many term papers and final exams clumped together at the end of a semester. Or the duress of having to learn a new computer program that's been forced upon us due to a system upgrade.

As I typed those questions that I would ask clients, I realized that there was at least one question in each category to which I answered a resounding, “Yes!”

Hmmm.

And the next question I ask my clients is: How long have you been dealing with these life challenges? Weeks? Months? Years?

Hmmm. I think I need a nap.

But, the point to all of these questions is to help us to give ourselves a break about how the mess got here. Now, it's a matter of how we get it un-messed, so that each time we walk into our particular messy space, we won't have to cringe anymore, or avert our eyes, or simply stop going in there. (I'm typing this on my laptop as I sit on my bed in my nice, neat ~ and thus relaxing ~ bedroom).

So now it's time to make a plan of action. Averting eyes, and avoiding spaces in our homes takes a lot of energy. Might as well use that energy to start the cleanup. As with any journey, it starts with one, simple, first step.

I anticipate this de-clutter journey to my nice, neat ~ and thus relaxing ~ home office space will take at least a few weeks. I'm being realistic here. I know it is a small space, which in a perfect world should take about a weekend to straighten up. But, I have a busy schedule that's subject to change depending on my clients' unexpected schedule changes. So, I'm preparing myself for the worst-case scenario.

And, I don't want to simply clean up the visible mess. I want to make the necessary changes to accommodate how I want to use this space. This means doing a careful analysis of the office's shortcomings and making appropriate changes as I go along. While this approach may take longer, it will help me to avoid a new clutter taking root. (Clutter is kind of like a weed, huh?)

So, friends, I invite you to join me on this de-cluttering journey, to be my witness and ~ if you would like ~ my support group, through leaving some encouraging comments here at Healing Circles.

This is something I always suggest that my clutter clients do ~ to have at least one person that they can turn to for support and/or help when they start feeling like this clean-up project will never end. There's nothing like having company in our misery ~ I mean our organizing joy ~ to keep us moving along the path to our vision of our perfect space.

You may want to start making your own personal space organizing journey. All of us here at Healing Circles can support each other. We'll have our own VoOOC support group.

But, I've talked enough. Now it's time for me to actually begin. I've been thinking about this too long. It's time to do it! And, I begin ... not here ...

and not here ...

but here ... inside this file drawer.

Stop by in a few days to find out why I decided that this should be the first step on my de-clutter journey.

I look forward to hearing from you.
To leave a message,
simply click on "comment" below.

Peace & Light to you,
Jae