Organize (D)

Word of the Year.

I am sure that you have seen and heard of those who have one word that represents their goal for the year. I have written about it in the past. It is an interesting concept. On one hand, it does help keep one focused on a goal or reflection. Yet, on the other hand, it can limit the scope of possibilities for the year.

Sometimes, choosing these words take a long time of reflection. One might not even be able to choose a word for the year until March. Other times, the word is constantly showing up in one’s life- as if the cosmos has already decided for you.

For me, the word this year is “organize(d)”. Seems as if that word is popping up all around me.

Just recently, we have a neighbor who said that while his mother and sister were visiting, they were critiquing his cabinets and telling him that he had to “get organized” before the birth of his son. From what I have seen, this friend is quite organized but it made me wonder about our home. Perhaps the frustration that I have been feeling recently, is due to the fact that I cannot find anything where I “think” it is located.

Lest you think otherwise, this is NOT how our cupboards look but it is how they seem to me when I am trying to find something.

Looking at our basement, I realize that we need to “get organized”. We have lived in our current home for three years. Once the initial renovations were completed, we put away all the items from our numerous cardboard boxes. At that stage of the move, we just wanted the boxes emptied and the items behind closed doors. “We’ll sort and arrange those things later,” as we pushed the bulging closet doors with our hip.

Well, later has come. We need to get organized!

I have been thinking about that word: organize(d).

The Cambridge Dictionary defines organize (or organise- UK spelling): to do or arrange things, plans, ideas, etc., according to a particular system so that they can be used or understood easily.

What I like about the word “organize” is that it is a verb, and that when acted upon, items or ideas can be easily grasped- physically or intellectually. I think of how much time I waste and the frustration of not knowing where some item is. Or, because of too much “stuff” in the way, I do not want to go through the cupboard or closet to find the said item and so I do without or I have to purchase another. What a waste.

And so, this year, I am going “to get organized”. I am so tired of looking at my to-do list and not completing it. I write the item on the list and then keep transcribing it to another list. My failure to complete the list is partly because I do not have a plan in how I will accomplish the task and so I do not know how to begin.

But, as I have written before and as I have recognized, there is a balance between organization and some type of serendipity especially as it comes to schedules and accomplishing goals. I don’t want to be so regimented and so bound by an organizational structure that I cannot be spontaneous. Yet I cannot be completely spontaneous because then I will not accomplish anything.

In my recent Education for Ministry class at our church, we were discussing the word organize(d) and the word associations with it. “Structure” was the association that we came upon. We then looked at the pros/cons of the word structure. One of my classmates felt that structure is limiting to creativity. And while there is some truth to it, I find that structure- broadly based- aides and guides creativity. For how many of us, do better in editing/correcting a written document rather than starting with a blank page? It is much easier to write when one is given a topic or direction rather than carte blanche for anything.

And so, I need to “get organized” this year. I want to do so in our home. But I have also been thinking about “getting organized” with my health and physical care, in my maintenance of relationships and in my writing. The idea of getting organized is really about intentionality. What do I find important and how will I intentionally do what I need and want to do?

What about you? Do you have a word of the year? Do you want to get organized? How are you going to go about it? Is the organizing a physical one? A mental one? Or a spiritual one? The word “organize” also contains within it, the actions of planning and execution. Perhaps it is not so much the organizing that I need, but the planning and then, more importantly, the execution and completion of that plan.

How are you planning on living this year? How are you going to intentionally live into that plan?

What is the word that will help you achieve that?

Be Prepared AKA “Leave it nice for the Buglars”

Years ago a friend of ours recounted the story of her neighbors who had gone away on vacation. She was on the phone list for the neighbor’s alarm system to be called if anything was wrong. On night, she was awoken by a call from the police saying that the alarm had sounded and they were called out to investigate. They wanted her to come over to the home and indicate if there was anything amiss.

My friend dutifully complied. She entered the living room and noticed drawers opened, piles of clothing, and sporting equipment dumped in the entryway, lamps askew, and clutter strewn throughout the house. Total chaos. My friend looked at the officer and said, “Nope. Nothing’s amiss. This is how their house looks all the time.”

My grandmother as she aged was always worried that upon her death those entering would shake their heads and say, “What a shame. She always kept such a clean, neat house but she deteriorated so much that she just couldn’t keep up her house.”

I am starting to have the same fear. Or at least when I get ready for vacation, that is in the back of my mind. What if something happened to me? What would people say who entered my house?

In preparation for vacation there is always an extra push to get the house in order so that 1) I will not have my neighbors’ respond, “Oh. It was always in disarray.” and 2) I can continue the vacation feeling when I return home because the house is all in order.

It is the old “be prepared” Girl Scout motto.

There is something satisfying to have things neatly wrapped up: laundry done, folded and put away, email correspondences sent, projects completed, upcoming responsibilities sorted out, the to-do list checked, the house clean and neat. Having a specific date for leaving and returning helps me set goals and actually accomplish them. Similar to the idea that nothing gets a room painted faster than having someone come for a holiday visit. Having finished what I have started also helps build confidence in the next venture. That satisfying feeling starts to override any inertia I may initially have.

This year, my broken wrist/surgeries and the COVID quarantine has reinforced my motto- “never put off tomorrow what you can do today”. For if I find I have some time to do something, I need to do it because that time will not come back again. Or the time that was to be set aside in the future is no longer available.

Of course, there is only so much, if any, preparation an individual can do with a global pandemic or an accident but having most things in order or trying to keep thing organized does help when unforeseen chaos happens. One can handle the disruption knowing that the basics are in good shape.

What about you? How are you in vacation prep? ( Do you remember what vacation is?) This year has been quite an unusual one, so many of you may not have had any chance to go on a vacation. But when/if you did- what do you do for the preparation?

How are the basics in your life? Home. Finances. Health. Do they need organization? A plan? How can you get things in order so that you are prepared for whatever might come down your path?

Is there any difference in your home whether you live there or thieves have disrupted the environment?

Do you leave your home nice and organized for the burglars?

Bouncing Back Like Bozo. Part 2

Another thing that is helpful when life's various assaults hit us hard, is to be organized.  When we have too much clutter, too many demands, too many things scheduled, too many obligations, too many of anything we become overwhelmed.  Once overwhelmed have no extra reserves to bounce back to center.  There can be such a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.  We forget that much of the disorganization is part of our own doing.  If we contributed to it, we can also reverse the situation. 

Being organized is subjective to your personality and temperament. There is a spectrum of disorganization on which some people can withstand more disorganization than another.  For those people leaning more towards the obsessive compulsive side, a kitchen sink not wiped out dry with every use is considered a major stressor. While others on the hoarders side of the continuum see nothing amiss with cardboard boxes and newspaper piles stacked over the entire area of the living, dining, kitchen and bedrooms.  No matter what is the trigger, eventually the clutter and disorganization will impact one's outlook and outcomes. 

There have been studies that children and older individuals (ones with dementia) do well with the concepts of simplicity and organization for the simple fact that it causes less stress whether one recognizes it as such.  When I was designing wellness programs for companies, many of the speakers on stress would talk about organizing one's workspace and keeping it (relatively) clutter free. It takes a lot of time and energy to try and find things when there is much to look through and things are not easily found.

Same can be said of our home keeping.  Having a home that is organized with our stuff makes things so much easier.  Even if chaos is swirling around us, we can rest among some semblance of peace and tranquility. Organization can spill over to how we plan our calendars, our meals, and our days.

Here are just a few suggestions that might help you get started in an effort to be organized:

• Make your bed in the morning.  I heard a pretty highly ranked military man speak to a college graduation and his one word of advice, "make your bed every morning."  The idea is that you have accomplished one thing already in your day.  A bed is the largest piece of real estate in your bedroom.  When it is unmade, it makes everything else disorganized.  But once made, you can go forth knowing you already did something for the day plus you will have a more restful sleep that night with smooth sheets and blankets.
• Get rid of 1/4 of your stuff.   Most people have way too much junk in their houses.  I know that we do.  If, God forbid, we had a fire and most of our stuff were ruined, I probably wouldn't replace it.  Telling huh?  I try and routinely go through sections of the house with a ruthless eye, "If I lost this in a fire, would I replace it?"  If the answer is no and it is something that isn't useful or beautiful- out it goes.
• One thing in, one thing out.  My mother-in-law has had this rule.  For anything she brought into the house, she got rid of something from the house.  Makes sense when you have limited space. 
• Straighten your desk before you leave work for the day.  You will come into your space the next morning prepared to tackle the day.
• Take time each week to plan the following week.  This might include your food menu for the following week, your work schedule, items to complete on your to- do list.  You should also put down your plan for balancing the needs of others (volunteer times) and your needs (your activity that brings you joy).  If you are still in the mode of changing your exercise, eating and sleeping habits, add that to your weekly plan. Part of being organized is to let wiggle room in your schedule.  Give yourself permission to not have the day completely jammed packed.  You can always fill it up, but it is more difficult to eliminate things that take your time.
• Keep under notes all things pertinent and important.  There are many different systems out there to help in organization of lists and files- charts, apps, documents, etc.  If you google "organizing important documents" you can find one that fits your needs, personality and budget. Can be as simple as a piece of paper with a list kept in a folder.  The point is to keep in one place the information of important documents: Doctors names and contact information. Prescriptions.  Medical history.  Passwords. Financial information. Tax information. Receipts for major purchases. 

What about you?  Do you feel overwhelmed with your schedule and obligations?  What areas of your life?  What do you need to do to get organized?  What small steps can you take to achieve it?  If you feel pretty organized in your life, what things do you do to stay organized?  

 Simplifying our lives and organizing what we have is another way to bolster our resilience to the onslaught of life.   It is a way that we can bounce back like Bozo. 

Closets, closets, closets

Last time I wrote about my plan to declutter our home.  It is definitely a work in progress.  But like all home projects, one thing leads to another.

It started with my switching my summer and winter clothes.  I was going through my clothing closet as I usually do, culling out the items that were too big, too worn, or that I really wouldn't wear again.  I am trying to be ruthless in my purging. 

Things were going well and then I realized that it had been over twenty years since I had everything out of the closet and had it painted.  So, on Sunday night I painted the interior of my closet. (My husband gave me a questioning look as to starting mixing the paint after dinner.  The look dissolved after I explained it was either I do it now or at 5 o'clock the next morning when I generally do home projects.  Seeing that the opening of the closet is close to the head of the bed, he wisely choose to remain silent with any other suggestions.) 

That led me to thinking perhaps I should reconfigure the space better.   In viewing the space, and short of having a contractor come in and knock down a few walls in order to widen it, I started looking at another upstairs closet.  That led to a thought, "Should I redo that closet to be my main closet and switch the items around?" That will probably lead to another project and so on and so on...

What is so difficult is that neither closet is a "normal" or average closet space. I have looked at the myriad of closets on Pinterest (and there are thousands more that I can peruse). I can not find any other closets that would match the size and scope of what I want to do.   So, it is hard to imagine how best to maximize the space without feeling overly cluttered.  Of course, after looking at all these pictures, I am wondering if people actually live in any of these pictures.  Are they seriously suggesting that people stack and keep stacked their color coordinated t-shirts on wire shelves with only slim wire dividers to hold things in place? 

I am still researching ideas as I am continuing to cull out the closets.  I really want to live into the quality not quantity ideal.  In putting the actual decision off for a bit while I am still sorting, I am hoping to eventually have an actual plan for the two closets and not just my wing and a prayer type of DIY.   I'll let you know how it goes.

What about you?  Have you ever redone a closet?  Did you use a closet system?  Is it still working?  What would you suggest as a plan for our main closet?  I would welcome your comments below. We don't plan on reconfiguring any walls or doing any major renovation, just want to reconfigure the interior to house hanging clothing (shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, blazers), shoes and handbags.  It is narrow- 30 inches across but deep- 88 inches deep. About 55 inches into the closet the 88 inch tall ceiling slopes down so that the back of the closet is only about 48 inches tall.  There had been two shelves in the back of the closet (you can see the wood side bars that held them up.  Also the two rods are the same height.  One of the issues I have is that currently I use both rods.  In order to access anything behind the first set of clothing rods, I have to duck down and waddle into the closet. I feel like I am going "to ground" like our terriers when they enter the wood pile after spotting their prey.  

Closet Project Number 1...

House Ready or Not?

The houses on both sides of us are for sale.  I was telling someone that the other day and I didn't realize how bad that makes us as neighbors until I noticed the raised eyebrow and the "Uh huh.  And this doesn't have anything to do with you?"  Innocently I said no but then it occurred to me that not every one loves a working (aka, barking) terrier.  

One of the houses is listed online and is typical of all nosy neighbors (come on, be honest, you know that you would too) we looked at the listing and the pictures.  The thing that struck me- "Where was all their stuff?"  My son who has spent some time there babysitting their children, said "Wow, that looks totally different." The house looked lovely, like a place from HGTV or a glossy decorating magazine but it also looked sterile.  Where was the lived-in look, the photos, the kitschy knickknacks from travels abroad, the books and papers?  It made me look at our home in a whole different light.

Actually I almost felt sick to my stomach thinking what would happen if we tried to sell our home?  We have so many undone projects and things that are particular to this quirky house. There couldn't possibly be anyone out there that would have the same preference as we once did and who would want to pay a nice price for it.

It also struck me that with all the staging and sprucing up, why don't we live like that always?  Is it just a fantasy that everyone buys into with the real estate game?  Of course, everyone wants to have a linen closet with perfectly stacked sheets and towels with plenty of shelf space so that you actually see the shelf.  No one really lives with shelves stuffed beyond capacity so that the linens are actually so packed they can stay wedged in open space between the front wall and the shelf. 

I also felt sick to my stomach of gluttony of household items.  Do we really need all those plates in the kitchen?  Can we get rid of some of our chairs?  Can't I put all of my clothes in the closet rather than schlepping the seasonal clothes in and out of neighboring bedroom closets? 

What if I only had in my house those things that were useful and beautiful (to misquote William Morris) and only one set or one item?  What would it look like if I parred down my belongings?  What if I got the house ready to sell but then enjoyed living in it? 

I am ready (almost) to try a challenge: Can I systematically go room by room, ruthlessly getting rid of those things that I don't love or don't use.  (One of the questions to ask- if I had a fire and this item was burned, would I replace it?)  What if I removed the unnecessary items, like I was staging the home for sale?  (Even though I do go through our rooms periodically, I never have been really hard core in my decision keep/throw out tree.)

I don't know if I can actually get rid of everything so I might just put in a labeled box in the basement.  A tip from professional organizers is to label the box "Give to Goodwill by December 2017" and if you haven't looked in the box by then, you haven't missed it so get rid of it. 

If going through a room is too much, try a section of it.  I have read that it is a good exercise to clear a shelf or mantel or wall of decoration and just live with the blankness for a while.  When you start putting things back, try the William Morris test of usefulness and beauty. 

I think there must be a fine line between living in the "staged" house setting and living in a pigsty. I don't want to live in a sterile environment but it would be nice not to feel that I am being suffocated with "stuff". 

What about you?  Is your house ready to sell?  What would your home look like if it was?  Would you like living in that setting or would you feel like you were missing something?  Would you want to try the house ready challenge? 

Voices

Ever have the battle between two voices in your head?  This is not the schizophrenic, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" type of voices but just the little things we tell ourselves that generally trip us up.  They are the voices of two differing opinions.

For instance, I have either the Nike "Just Do It"  or Scarlett O'Hara's voice "tomorrow is another day", clammering in my head especially when I have tasks that I am not too keen on beginning. 

In my immediate family this head battle appears to be played out especially in the realm of straightening and putting away household items.  There is the battery operated bicycle reflector that hasn't quite made it to the basement for a fresh battery.  There are the piles of extra Christmas cards that are making the room rounds.  There is the bag of to-be-recycled wine corks that are on their way to their final destination (back to the wine store) yet has somehow moved from kitchen to basement to bedroom.  

Scarlett's mindset is winning.  

In 2016 I plan on being more determined to finish what I start, when I start it.

Many years ago when I worked on a very busy and stressful oncology floor in the hospital I learned that if I had time to do some task, e.g. straighten a room for the next admission, I better do it when I thought about it.  If not, the time and thought would be long gone due to the next pressing event taking its place.  When I didn't accomplish something when I thought about it, I would regret the time lost.

So many times I have not felt like straightening up only to have someone stop by unexpected or I am asked about an item at the bottom of one of my floating piles.  Either way  I am caught unawares and realize that had I only taken care of what I needed to do at the time it needed to be done, I wouldn't feel frazzled.

I have heard that one of the Montessori school program tenets  is to encourage children to learn how to pick up after themselves.  If a preschooler gets out another toy, he/she has to put away the first toy with which he/she was playing.  

Clean up after yourself as you go along.  Not a bad philosophy.

Some time management/organizing gurus suggest taking fifteen minutes each day to put away miscellaneous and stray items.  Keep a basket on each floor of your home.  Anything that is found during the day that is not in its normal place and needs to be returned to its "home" is placed in the basket.  At a specific time during the day (before dinner or bedtime) take fifteen minutes to return the items to its proper location.  

Next time I will unlock the basement door, open it and put the recycling into its container rather than walking past the pile of papers on the floor by the door.  All it takes is a few extra seconds to be done and finished.  Why, I don't do it at the time, I have no idea.

What about you?  Any small, niggling tasks that you tell yourself "tomorrow is another day" and you will start tomorrow?  How long has that conversation been exchanged?  What is preventing you?  Is the task overwhelming?  Would doing one small thing get you started?  Are you too tired to start? 

What refrains are playing through your head?