Tacky Thursday: Release Something Sticky

Easier said than done.

Why are we holding on to certain things? This is a lamp. A tacky lamp. I got it from a family member who got it from someone else who didn't want it. No sentimental value here.

The lamp shade is made of glass panels with scenes from Paris. I've never been to Paris, have no connection to Paris. One of the panels is missing because it shattered.

I tried giving it away once on Freecycle but that fell through (no interest). I can't donate it because it's broken.

Put it in the trash? But it's working perfectly fine! I can't bring myself to add it to our overflowing landfills.

What else to do? Do you like it? Would you like to take it off my hands? Suggestions?

Doing Dishes, Making Decisions

This post was inspired by a tweet that I sent out on Twitter tonight.



I needed to do one of two things, but was undecided about which one to do. Both would take about the same amount of time.

Blogging requires brain power; doing dishes require physical action (and not a lot of brain power).

I opted for the dishes, since my brain was tired. Plus, I needed the exercise too. Bend, stretch, reach to put away the dishes, play with water.

I got tweet responses saying "Blog!"

I replied back that I could blog about dishes, so here I am, doing so, after having done the dishes.

What does this have to do with organizing? It's all about making decisions. And, having an incentive or motivation to keep you going.

With a pile that needs to get organized, you can either take care of it, or not.

For many of us, it ends up being not. Not in the mood to do it, not feeling like it, not enough energy, and so on.

Why not change it around next time, and give yourself the choice of working on one pile or ____ (fill in the blank with something else that needs to get done) and/or a reward to go with it.

Start purging the one pile for 5 minutes (Eva's Edict), then stop.

Now, go ahead and do the other task, 5 minutes. Give yourself the reward at the end, when done.

The main thing is to take a step toward getting a pile done, whether it's dishes, paperwork, clothes, whatever. 5 minutes at a time.

Do something, rather than nothing. Give yourself a choice, and make a decision to move forward.

Let me know how you do, and what you end up doing (leave a comment below or send me tweet on Twitter). I'll give you a tweet back as your reward.

Helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

~Eva

5 Things When Stuck Inside on Snowy Day

The Story Behind the Video:

When there's a snowy day in New Jersey and I'm stuck in the house, I go a little stir crazy. Cabin fever, I think it's called. Then I get this urge to make videos. Of Top 5 lists. All while trying to keep the regular routines at home.

And this is going against all that I teach, which is Focus on One Thing.

When I created and edited the video below, it was around 4:00pm in the afternoon, at the lowest energy point of my day, when I'm helping the kids with homework, fixing a snack for them and getting dinner started, all at the same time.

And what am I doing? Bouncing around in the kitchen, from the table, to the sink, to the refrigerator, to the stove, to the computer, and back again... This is what I tell my clients NOT to do.

But I'm focused. On One Thing at a Time.

Two to five minutes at a time, however long it takes to do the task on hand at the moment.

The 'normal' afternoon routine in our house is on automatic pilot, after many months of tweaking and following my own advice to apply the STO System of Organizing. I just happen to throw in a new task of producing|editing|uploading a video at the same time, that's all.

Now I'm not telling you to try this at home ("do as I say, not as I do"). I think it helps a bit that I have a video production background (from many years ago) and that I had already spent many hours in the middle of the night to learn the video editing software.

So, I had a plan on how to create the video in the most efficient way possible. Maybe it wasn't the most high-tech or animated or graphic-rich video that I could have done, but, hey, considering the circumstances, I think it's OK for my first try at it. Plus, dinner didn't get burned either.

Here it is:



Special thanks to the followers on Twitter who responded to my original tweet for their Top 5 Things to Have on Hand When Stuck Inside on a Snowy Day:

@Mike_Wesely
@ProfOrganizer
@tammigirl
@radiomanmic

Here are their original tweets:


Are you following me on Twitter? Who knows, your tweet could be in my next video.

STO February: Focus on One Thing

The STO System - Make it a Habit
Eva's Edict 5 Minutes / 21 Days

This month, focus on doing ONE thing at a time. Leave the multi-tasking to machines for now.

Let's get started:

Assess The Excess
What are your areas of clutter? Figure out where your clutter zones are.

Pick One Area / 21 Days
Zoom in and focus on just one area to sort through for the next 21 days (experts say it takes 21 day to make / break a habit). If you finish before 21 days, great! Move on to your next area. If you need extra time, you've got 28 days this month, make the best of it.

5 Minutes
Do 5 minutes, then stop. Use the timer to keep you on track. Got 20 minutes to spare? Go to it. Got no time to spare? Do 2 minutes anyway of focused sorting, then stop.

STO - Make it a Habit to make Executive Decisions
I'm promoting you to CEO, in charge of Your Stuff. Separate out the obvious trash and recyclables first, then get in the habit of making quick decisions on what to do with the rest of the stuff. You only have 5 minutes to do this, so just get it over with, then get on with the rest of your day.

Release, Release, Release
You have more important things to do than to spend too much time on this stuff. Just release it, release it's grip on you.

MIYO
Make It Your Own. Adapt it, adjust it, tweak it to make the STO System work for you.

STO - Make it a Habit. Do something, rather than nothing. Every day.

Send me a tweet on Twitter after you've done your 5 minutes @Eva_Abreu #EE5

Photo credit: FreeFoto.com

January is Get Organized Month!

Welcome to the New Year!

Let's Make it a Fun Time in Two-Thousand-and-Nine!

And kicking it off in January is Get Organized Month

Can organizing be fun? Sure it can!

There's lots of neat stuff planned for this month to help keep you motivated and primed to do some serious and not-so-serious organizing, such as...

A new desk calendar, Eva's Edict 5 Minutes Organizing Calendar, memo cube style, tear off one-page-per-day.
Shipping mid-January, just in time when folks start hitting a plateau and begin to lose their momentum from the first of the year. Here's a much needed shot of daily motivation to help carry you forward for the rest of the year.

Workshops & Events
A preview of my local workshops and classes in January & February on the topic of De-Cluttering and Organizing can be found HERE.

...plus more! videos, podcasts, and teleconferences are also in the works.
(Contact Me for more info)


Need help getting organized, like, RIGHT NOW?

Now accepting limited number of Private Clients.

Maybe a workshop isn't your thing; maybe you need more one-on-one attention. As one of my exclusive Private Clients, I'll work together with you by phone/text/email to personally create a custom plan to fit into your crazy life, and throw in that extra edge of accountability to keep you on track. Contact me for a Free Trial 15 Minute Private Client Session


Follow me on Twitter


For fun discussions and daily Eva's Edict "Purge A Pile" assignments, find me on Twitter @Eva_Abreu. If you don't know what Twitter is, it's a micro-blogging / social networking site, that's quick, easy and right to the point, kind of like instant messaging or texting. Don't worry, I'll help you through it if you don't get the hang of it right away!


Ready to Release? Tell me about it and let me know how I can help you Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

Eva's Edict: Purge a Pile to Donate

In the spirit of the season, as they say: "It's Better To Give, Than To Receive"...

...let's do an Eva's Edict 5 Minutes: Purge a Pile to Donate.

Go ahead and choose from one of the following categories:

- Clothes

- Books

- Toys

- Food (see previous post on Pantry Purge)

- Other - your choice

Am I hearing choruses of , "...but I have no time, especially this time of year!"?

I say: Give it a try, 5 minutes at a time!

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Have on hand: Trash Bag and Donate Bag.

2. Do one area at a time (or one section, or one shelf).
Start with the easiest area to get to right now, and clear off one section. Then STOP for today and get on with the rest of your day.

3. Keep going, 5 minutes at a time, ONLY if you have the time and energy to continue today. Otherwise, it's ok to stop where you are and pick it up the next time. We want to avoid burn-out or creating a bigger mess that we're too tired to clean up.

4. Keep in mind SAFETY.
Ask for assistance if a shelf is too high or too low to reach, or if items are too heavy to carry out. Get an organizing partner to help (family member, friend, your friendly local Professional Organizer, etc.)

5. Follow through with your donation.
Bring the donation bag directly to your car (even if it's only half-full) and drop off as soon as possible. Or contact the non-profit organization for pick up. Another option is to give away through your local Freecycle.org. If you need more ideas of where to donate, you can contact me.

Release, release, release! Let it go to a new home.

Let me know how you do! Leave a comment below or Contact Me or send me a Tweet on Twitter.

Helping you Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

Regards,

Eva Abreu, www.Sort-Things-Out.com
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Eva's Edict: 5 Minutes Holiday Lists

Do you have your lists prepared for the holidays yet? If not, that's OK! We'll be working on lists today.

Today's Eva's Edict: take 5 Minutes to plan your Holiday Lists.

OK, ready? We're going to List Your Lists.

First, let's focus on which Holiday that you're working on (Thanksgiving, or Winter Holiday).

What lists would be helpful to you? Let's mention a few here.

(Note: You don't have to start filling out the details or the tasks just yet. We'll do that in the next step. Right now, we're just brainstorming what lists should be included in your Holiday Planning Notebook or folder.)

Jot down which of the lists below you think you might need. If you've completed Eva's Edict from yesterday, pull out your brainstorm notes to help you.

Budget - would it be helpful to create a budget? I would guess, Yes, in these times.

Card List - who are you sending greeting cards to?

Cleaning - what areas of your home need to be cleaned or organized for the holiday? Create a timeline and break down the tasks, so you're not overwhelmed.

Gift List - who do you have to shop for? Do you plan to make gifts?

Meals - do you do a lot of cooking for the holiday? Are you bringing a dish to a party? This would be the place to create a task list, timeline, menu and shopping list.

Resources - list of stores, websites, catalogs, services, etc. that will be handy to have on hand in one place

Special Events - are you involved in coordinating any special events such as concerts, school or religious programs, volunteer, etc.?

Supply List - what holiday supplies do you need to have on hand related to presents, wrapping, greeting cards, decorations, etc.?

Travel - do you travel during the holidays, or are you expecting guests who will be staying with you from out of town?

Can you suggest some other lists that might be helpful?

Do 5 minutes today of Holiday List brainstorming, then STOP.

You can now go about business as usual with the rest of your day.

The main thing is: to get started, start doing SOMETHING rather than nothing and to begin to Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

You can always contact me for moral support and extra guidance, Toll-free (U.S.) 1-877-708-0884. I'm here to help!

Contact me or leave a Comment below after you've done today's Eva's Edict and I'll feature your story here!

Have fun planning and let me know how you made out.

Regards,
Eva, www.Sort-Things-Out.com

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