Ready or Not, Here Come the Holidays!

If the retail stores haven't let the cat out of the bag, I'm about to. The holidays are right around the corner. Of course, along with the holidays come parties, presents, and perhaps houseguests. Depending on your personality and the readiness of your home, that statement might send you into a bit of a panic attack, but never fear, transforming your home into a welcoming environment to share with your friends and family just takes a little time and focused effort.

• Start at the front door. Look at the condition of your welcome mat, remove clutter (including leaves) from the entry way and maybe throw a fresh coat of paint on the door itself. WD40 the hinges if it squeaks.
  
• Check your lighting. Ensure that there is adequate lighting not only in the entryway, but also throughout the home. Add task lighting or a lamp to spaces that are not effectively lit by overhead fixtures.
  
• Gather up loose papers. If time is limited and decision making isn't your strength, you can still make progress painlessly by using a bankers box to corral magazines, memories, mail, etc. Do not include critical papers into these boxes. Bills or items needing immediate attention should be kept separate. Be realistic about what items will actually be dealt with and protect this "to do" pile. Large "to do" piles are daunting.
  
• Reevaluate your décor. This is usually easier during the holidays. As you add splashes of holiday cheer, take a moment to be critical of the items on the wall, on the shelves and your furniture.
  
• Hit the closets. Make room for your weary travelers. Guest bedroom closets are notorious catchalls. Take a minute to remove items that are no longer needed. Tidy up the remaining items by putting them in plastic tubs or bankers' boxes and label them.
  
• What's that smell? Have a new nose and a honest voice let you know where air fresheners are required.
  
• Bonus points. Washing the windows, shampooing the carpets and dry cleaning the bedding are really nice touches, but generally not many people will notice if they don't get done.
  
• Defend your work. If you intend to host many parties with a busy household, declare some places off limits for daily clutter. Protect common entertaining zones by sending backpacks, papers, and laundry straight to their homes. It's difficult to change habits, but what a gift to not have to constantly reorganize the same space.
  

Above all , don't let the condition of your home take the joy out of the holidays. Your first priority should always be to take care of yourself. If the thought of having people into your home is stressful or if you are experiencing undue anxiety, talk to someone. Sometimes all you need is a good one on one conversation to put you at ease, find solutions to your worries and help get on with the business of celebrating the holidays.

 

Are Your Closets Scary???

I used to LOVE scary movies. The door to the closet was always a focal point of directors, and the music would get creepier and creepier as the camera zoomed in. The lighting would change ever so slightly, and, with great anticipation, the door would fly open to reveal your worst nightmare. Bum Bum Bum.

I laugh when I think of this being a morning routine for people with overcrowded closets. I imagine them standing outside the door to the closet in their robes dreading to open the door and begin the hunt for the day’s outfit. Who wants to dig for those black pants you haven’t worn since last winter? How many times has that left shoe evaded capture?

Put a stop to it. Face your fears and tackle the darn closet. Make it work for you. I believe it should be a joy to get dressed in the morning. Your clothes should make you feel good about yourself. Your closet should present you with opportunities to express how you’re feeling that day: athletic, professional, comfortable, playful, sexy.

Clothes that bring guilt are not welcome. Outgrown, underutilized, shopping mistakes, and damaged items need to go. Only leave behind the clothes that you will realistically wear again. The jeans responsible for the muffin top should be banned. The outfits from high school are not worthy of prime real estate. Consider how wonderful it would be if the only items left in your closet are those you love, not just those you tolerate. I can hear you thinking, “but I’d have nothing left!” Perhaps it is time to change the way you think about shopping. Those $1.99 deals that you just couldn’t pass up would have served you better invested in a quality item that looks great and wears well. Quality not quantity. Statistically, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. Shouldn’t those clothes be amazing?

Industry standards call for 1 hanger per linear inch of rod space. How does this compare to your current system? I cannot tell you how many sagging rods are out there begging for relief! Clothes will stay fresh longer and will not become so wrinkled if given adequate hanging space, and the wrestling match will be a thing of the past. No more pushing and pulling or balancing on tippy toes to reach your clothes. What a nice start to the day.

The more closets you have, the more stuff you can cram in them, and less likely you will be to have the time and inclination to organize them. I love mathematics and just know this will be a standard equation someday. If you need help getting started, give me a call. I love a good expedition!

Dealing with Stuff while You Grieve

Nothing breaks your heart like losing a member of your family. Coming home for the first time without them is just wrong. The house feels like it might tip over because a grounding member is no longer there. Instead there is heaviness and quiet. Memories of them are everywhere - keys and wallet on the kitchen counter, shoes by the door, toiletries by the sink, clothes in the closet, medications, toys left out, unused baby clothes, leash hanging by the door. It hurts so much to no longer have that physical connection and their things are a constant reminder of that.

Truly, the sadness we feel when someone dies is for ourselves and those left behind. Faith tells me that our family member no longer hurts and is experiencing a new joy greater that anything I can imagine. But we are left behind and in the throes of our sorrow we ache to have them back. It’s common to seek out things that can surround you and bring you comfort - things that remind you of their smell, their personality, their love for you. We don’t want to forget or physically let go. Perhaps if we put things away it will mean we no longer love and are willing to forget.

Take your time when it comes to putting things away. Give yourself permission to do the hard work of grieving. Handle their belongings. Enjoy them, reminisce, cry if you need to. Gather other family around and talk about the stuff. Allow time for the reality of your loss to sink in. Slowly, but surely, the bulk of the stuff will lose its’ significance. As it does, it will be easier to find a new home for it.

Figuring out what to keep is difficult and is a very individual process. Guard against being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of things by making sure you have support. When you find an item that you treasure, set it aside. Keep your focus on locating the things that no longer have that significance and finding those things a new home. Find another time to fully process your treasures to make the progress you need to make.

On the flip side of the coin, you have your own belongings to deal with. Grieving is a very physical process and takes a ton of energy. You may not have the strength or really even the inclination to deal with your usual getting through life stuff. Dishes, clothes, mail, bills, and trash are always multiplying. Ask for help if you need it. Allow people to come alongside you. I promise it will be a gift to them because we all want to make it better.

Getting Kids out the Door with a Smile

Create some very basic and easy to follow expectations for your kids. Build it into a routine, encourage it, and reward it. You'll love the results. This is a document I created for my 5 yr old to get him up and at 'em in the morning. He doesn't read yet, so this has worked awesome!

My Mother's Garden

We talked about this movie a little today at the Clutter Control Support Group. It's absolutely heartbreaking and difficult to understand the dynamics associated with hoarding. This video is an excellent opportunity to see the effect hoarding has on every member of the family.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29920715#29920715

Great Article In O'Colly

By Matt JohnsonThe Current Writer
Published: April 01, 2009
Alanna Bradley had a problem.
After moving into a new apartment, things got a little out of hand.
Boxes crowded her home office and clothes cluttered her closet.
She had to search for things amid the mess, and sometimes they were never found.
Bradley knew she had to do something.
“I had this overhanging feeling of a monkey on my back,” she said. “My home was contributing to my frustrations that I had outside of it, and that’s why I sought help.”
Bradley got the help of Shannon Cowan, a professional organizer.
Cowan provides her services to anyone who, like Bradley, wants some help getting things in order and keeping it that way.
After working with Bradley about what she would want out of her home, Cowan started showing her methods to keep her home from getting that way again.
“We looked through all of my clothes and we ended up donating a lot of it,” Bradley said. “We just got rid of a lot of things that I didn’t need and she helped me to start using a filing system, as well.”
After a few hours of organizing, Bradley and Cowan were looking at a much different living space than they were earlier that day.
“We just put everything in its place,” Bradley said. “She helped to maximize my living space, and it felt like my mind was cleared out, too.”
Bradley’s predicament is not different from many others whom Cowan helps around the Stillwater area.
For three years, Cowan has worked as an organizer, and she’s made it her life’s mission to help simplify the lives of others.
“Organization affects relationships, job performance and a lot of important things in our lives,” she said. “I love to organize, and I can help people get things back into order when they have trouble functioning.”
Organization is an important thing in Cowan’s life, but she said she doesn’t want people to think that her own life is perfect.
“I’m one of the messiest people you will ever meet,” she said. “Being organized doesn’t mean that everything is always in its place.
“I just set my home up in a way that allows me to pick everything up in 15 minutes at the end of the day.”
Before choosing her current career path, Cowan graduated from OSU in 1997 with a double major in cellular and molecular biology and microbiology.
She said she went on to be a successful lab manager and taught infectious diseases at OSU’s vet school, but after the tragic loss of her son, she started to rethink her career path.
“I started wondering about how I was living my life,” she said. “I looked at my actual gifts, and I took those and started my organization business.”
As a member of a military family growing up, Cowan was forced to move almost every two years of her life.
The constant moves caused her to be organized enough to be able to pack her things quickly and efficiently.
Then, while she was working as a lab manager, the newer restrictions placed on labs after Sept. 11 caused labs to organize things in a much safer and standardized manner.
“I liked things like that, though,” Cowan said. “Now, I can pack a house like it’s nobody’s business, and it helped me realize how much I loved doing things like that.”
After realizing the talent she had for it, she decided it was something she wanted to pursue, and Cowan wasn’t the only one who thought it was a natural thing.
Holly Evers, who worked as a teaching assistant under Cowan at the vet school, said she also thought the decision was something that made complete sense for Cowan.
“I encouraged her to do it from the beginning,” Evers said. “She’s good at inspiring people and encouraging them to do better.”
Cowan says her job has become one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling experiences of her life.
Cowan will help anyone with the organization of their homes and apartments, even helping to streamline daily schedules and routines.
She can be contacted through her Web site, http://www.fporg.com, or by e-mailing her at Shannon@FreshPerspectiveOrganizing.com.
“I’m happy that I can help others make their lives work in a better, more efficient manner,” Cowan said. “This job has been one of the greatest decisions I’ve made in my life.”

Spring Fling 2 – Community Donation Drive
Ever wish you had an easy way to get rid of your clutter? Now you do! I have partnered with the Stillwater Public Library to bring back the Spring Fling that was so successful last year. It’s a great opportunity to shed your stuff while benefitting nonprofit organizations right here in Stillwater. Needs are many in our current economy and I encourage you to look around and find the items that are no longer serving you, but would be a blessing to someone in need. Decluttering is a great way to start this spring season with a fresh perspective. Gone will be the piles of items that have been a burden to you or a drain on your energy!
Tips for a great purging experience:
· Turn on music. It’s a great motivator.
· Clean as you go, it will give you a rewarding feeling, and handling each and every item will help you to realize your clutter threshold (is it worth the upkeep?).
· Envision your results. What will you do with a beautiful new space?
· Get a buddy. Having a “tosser” friend may be just what you need to get the results you crave, but make sure they know and respect your limits.

Spring Fling 2 is scheduled for May 2 in the Stillwater Public Library east parking lot at 1107 S. Duck from 9-12. Participating Agencies and their needs include:

Friends of the Library – Books, Movies, CD’s

Payne County Youth Services – Outdoor recreation equipment for age 10 and up, adolescent style clothes, twin bedding, next to new towels, cookware, handheld games, game controllers, paper products, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, outdoor plants, patio bench, no bikes please.

Stillwater Domestic Violence Services – Umbrellas, Sweat suits (women’s and children’s, toddlers),Cold and flu Meds (Children and Adult), Diapers- sizes 2, 3, and 4, Household items

Habitat Restore - Household items, maintenance, repair, building materials

Goodwill - everything except for mattresses, tube televisions and crt computer monitors. No large appliances, gasoline powered items, plastic bottles, cardboard, aluminum, paper, or glass

Stillwater Literacy Council - children's books, young adult books, titles of traditional favorite stories for our Basic Literacy and English as Second Language students, teaching materials to help tutors to teach Basic Literacy and English as Second Language.

Cimarron Council Boy Scouts of America - scout uniforms, camping equipment

Judith Karmen Hospice - Most items accepted