Earth Day is coming on April 22nd! Check out recycling everything with Zero Waste boxes.

Life hacks from Kevin Kelly: When you’re beginning a writing project, give yourself permission to write badly. You can’t fix it until it’s down on paper.

Low on kitchen counter space? Pull out a drawer and put your cutting board on top of it.

“Do I Need This?” by Kate Schermerhorn, who lives in the Bay Area. A documentary on excess stuff and aging parents.

New TC Organizes services – collectible advising: using me to research items if they have value and then selling/donating them. Also, consulting prior and during a remodel to make sure all your items have a place to live after the remodel.

Best session: Navigating Widowhood by Julie Martella. Acknowledge the past. Make peace with the present.

Accepting the present only means that you acknowledge that the event happened. You don’t have to feel good about it.

If you can do the above, then you can see the future to create a life that has purpose and meaning. Help the person/yourself by visualizing what the future looks like. Use the phrase “What if…” For example, “What if you could do anything you wanted?”

Zero-waste session: Other words for recycling are “rehoming”, “reloving”, “giving it another life”, “sharing it forward”.

Ask the organizer: “Is your home always perfect and orderly?” Nope. I am a paper pile person, so every month or so, I have to go through and sort them – mostly they go in the recycle bin.

‘Designer Shares the Art of Displaying Collections’ by Marni Jameson. My favorite columnist talks with John Phifer Marrs about how to display your collections.

I joined The Keys Guild to learn how to become a collectibles advisor. Keep you posted on how that is going in future newsletters.

ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kohlberg & Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D. A client recommended this book. Check it out!

A tip from my dog: to get more petting time keep nose booping their hands and arms while they are playing on their cell phones.

Why is Mr. Clean Magic Eraser so magical?? Here’s the scoop.

Cure Closet Chaos by Marni Jameson article. A few tips are to remove everything, sort & keep what you like, make sure the layout fits what you have, and get all the same hangers.

A colleague’s take on how time management and organization are intertwined. Harold Taylor says, “Time management and organization work in tandem since disorganization wastes time. The major difference between organizing and time management from my perspective is that, in general, organizing deals mainly with things, and time management deals with activities that have a time dimension. Both are important, and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the two. I see organization as our passport to productivity, and time management as the vehicle that takes us there. Because it is impossible to manage your time effectively without first getting organized.”

5 way to help the Earth

Terracycle recycles just about every thing! I highly encourage you to create your recycle zone

Disapproving corgis Facebook page for amusing comments about Corgi side-eye and attitude!

Short excerpt from June 2020 edition of O Magazine titled ‘How to Fear Less & Live More.’ The article explains that when we’re frightened we tend to distract ourselves with outward diversions rather than getting still and going inward as a more powerful tool to calm the mind. Using the five senses to notice our surroundings can help us stay present and handle ‘just this moment.’

Before disaster strikes, make sure you have these documents ready to go!

Dresser drawers crowded? Apply Marie Kondo’s t-shirt folding method to see each one and fit more than you can imagine.

COVID-19 websites: CDC and WHO. Stats in California.

Since many donation places are closed during shelter in place, what else can you do with your unwanted goods? You can sell or give them away on NextDoor, Facebook Marketplace and Letgo. FreeCycle and TrashNothing are great places to give away stuff too. These are all local sites, so it’s easy to have the item picked up.

Here is a recent article from Regina Lark, an organizer who specializes in helping people with chronic disorganization. Definitely worth a read if you tend to lose your keys and are frequently late – The Chronic-ness of Disorganization

Ways to take care of yourself while sheltering-in-place from Kaiser Permanente: Improve your mood with exercise – 8 fitness tricks

Practice self-care with the help of apps and activities – resources for your mind and body

Talk to loved ones about how you’re feeling – mental health care

Arts and crafts: sew a face mask, learn to knit, decorate something with washi tape, paint rocks and leave them around the neighborhood

Whatever you are doing – balancing your child/children’s needs with working from home, tackling a space that drives you crazy, reading a book that has been on your list forever, or baking bread, embrace the process and let yourself appreciate this time in your life. The important thing to remember is that this too shall pass.

Get Organized specials are here! See my website for more info.

Organizing story: Here is an article written by a mom-to-be of twins who wrote how an organizer helped before & after her move and how well the systems work now that the babies are born. I like how she got sock folding out of reading Marie Kondo’s book (mine was t-shirt folding) and “kaleidoscope of happiness”!

From the book “Why I’m Still Married” come a few gems: “How to get over a fight? …We’re going to stay together, and more important than one of us being right is both of us feeling understood. And you can only apologize for what you did, not for the other person being upset.” Julia Alvarez, Third Time Around.

“Love is not two people looking at each other, but looking in the same direction.” Saint-Exupery quote from Liza Ireland, Preserved in Salt.

Are your eyes changing as you age? Yes, they are! A few tips from the American Lighting Association website says to add more light sources in your task areas and to reduce glare by using dimmers, fabric shades or etched glass.

Advice from Mark Brunetz on how to let go of sentimental items that ran in Marni Jameson’s column – if you think “I might need that someday.” “Living your life for “one day” robs you of today,” says Brunetz. “We need to live in the present. When we project life into the past or the future, we eclipse the experience of the moment.”

Our remodel has been keeping me busy. However, I’m never too busy to watch a video related to organizing! Check out Pete the Cat’s video

How to protect yourself from fraud/being hacked: use 2-step verification, use multiple forms of login in case you lose access via email, use a secure password saver (like Last Pass) and not the cloud, cover your camera on devices with a post-it or opaque tape.

“WTF I Actually Learned From Hiring A Professional Organizer”. It is funny and informative for people who want to know how an organizer can help them. It’s from Cosmopolitan and you might not be surprised that there is swearing in it.

Recently I had a client ask me how long they should keep their business records. Here’s the link for that information from the IRS website. It’s also posted on my website Resources page along with individual paper keeping info.

“…organize as much as you need to…and no more.” Another great article from Hazel Thornton, an organizer in New Mexico. I enjoy her down-to-earth sensibility about organizing. Here is the full article. Enjoy!

The world is abuzz about Marie Kondo and her show! Check out a summary here from The Atlantic Monthly. Also articles about tidying up from 1916 and why books don’t need to spark joy to keep.

Here’s a gem from Hazel Thornton, an organizer in NM, on how to emotionally detach from an item. Ask yourself: This item belongs in my past. It exists in my present as well, because I still have it… but does it belong in my future? Read more about it here.

“Want to Change an Important Habit?” I’ve started following author Gretchen Rubin, who published The Happiness Project in 2015. Take the Four Tendencies quiz here!

Reflections of 2018 and advice for decluttering and changing behaviors.

Create “The Out-Box” for items that you are considering getting rid of. Clean off a counter/surface while waiting for hot water to boil.

Don’t yell at your child when they are making you late; correct them at a quieter moment. Ask them what they need to remember 15 minutes before departure.

Great kitchen organizing tools

Defining “sandwich generation” and how to deal with extra stuff, how to repurpose special items into heirlooms, and decluttering yourself first to motivate family members.

Need help with disposing of unneeded items? Check out my Resources handout.

Languishing computer? Reformat the hard drive and then drop it off at the electronic waste recycling center!