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Double Vision

I’m starting to see double, and I’m not quite sure what to do about it. It’s not a vision problem I’m dealing with, it’s a problem with double-booking myself, and not even realizing it. This has never been much of an issue for me before. Whenever two events I want to attend are taking place on the same day, at the same time, I simply choose one, and put the details on my calendars. I have two—the one on the kitchen counter that I look [...]

By |March 5th, 2024|Accountability, Columns, Organizing|Comments Off on Double Vision

Make It Fun, and It Will Get Done

We’re a full week into the new year, and my New Year’s Resolution is still alive and well. In fact, it’s taken on a life of its own. The basic plan was to declutter one room or area a month, and to get rid of at least one item every day, so that 30 or more items will be donated or thrown out by the time I move on to my next target. I decided to start with the master bedroom closet. Each morning I [...]

By |January 9th, 2024|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Organizing|Comments Off on Make It Fun, and It Will Get Done

A Valuable Lesson

I saw a news clip recently about a woman who bought a vase at a Goodwill store for $3.99, and ended up selling it for over a hundred thousand dollars after discovering it was a rare and valuable piece by a famous Italian designer. That’s one of the reasons I have a hard time getting rid of things. Because you never know. Then there’s the fact that I may discover I desperately need something as soon as I give it away or throw it away. [...]

By |January 1st, 2024|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Organizing|Comments Off on A Valuable Lesson

What day is this?

“Today is about tomorrow, not about yesterday.” That statement came from the president of Georgia Writers Museum at the start of a strategic planning session I took part in last week. Normally, I am intimidated by things like strategic planning sessions. They’re simply not my area of expertise, and when I’m in one I often feel like I’m in the wrong place, or in over my head. This one was different, though. Creativity was emphasized, and the exercises we did over the course of the [...]

By |May 22nd, 2023|Columns, Family, Organizing, Quotes and Sayings|Comments Off on What day is this?

Coming out of the closet

I have to admit that every so often, while writing a column or blog post, I worry that the topic I’m writing about is so ordinary and mundane that everyone reading it will be bored to tears, and quit reading halfway through – or sooner. Not only that, but I wonder if at the same time, I’m exposing all my faults and flaws, and showing how ordinary, mundane, and disorganized my life can be. Invariably, however, those posts end up being the ones people seem [...]

By |February 6th, 2023|Columns, Organizing|Comments Off on Coming out of the closet

A Sentimental Journey

We’re cleaning out a closet in the back room, the one that’s become a storage unit. The one you joke about, saying you need to put a helmet on before opening the closet door – except it’s not really a joke. One of the shelves holds bags and stacks of gift boxes, wrapping paper, and greeting cards, and anytime I reach for anything, most of the rest usually comes flying down with it. The closet also holds Christmas decorations, photos and frames, and miscellaneous mementos. [...]

By |January 30th, 2023|Columns, Family, Organizing|Comments Off on A Sentimental Journey

An Organized Mind?

There are people who consider me to be a very organized person. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. Actually, it’s not that I don’t consider myself to be organized. In some ways I am. If you mention something I wrote about in a long-ago column or blog, I can usually go back through my files and find a copy of it within a matter of minutes. Or if you ask me for the recipe for something I brought to a picnic or party – back [...]

By |October 24th, 2020|Columns, Organizing, Toastmasters|Comments Off on An Organized Mind?

Time for Cleaning Up and Clearing Out

We’re three days into the new year, and my New Year’s Resolution is still going strong. And, since it involves weekly projects – and the first one’s already done – it will still be intact for at least another few days. Actually, I expect it to stay alive and well for a lot longer – hopefully throughout the entire year. It’s a variation on other New Year’s Resolutions I’ve made in the past when my focus has been organizing and decluttering. This year, I decided [...]

By |January 3rd, 2020|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Organizing|Comments Off on Time for Cleaning Up and Clearing Out

Time for a Tune-Up

We’re almost halfway through the year, which makes this a good time for a much-needed reset and jump start on a project of mine – my still-active New Year’s Resolution. This year, my resolution was to come up with a monthly theme, such as “Decluttering” or “Health Habits,” and then do weekly tasks or projects related to the theme. It’s gone well, for the most part, but I’ve fallen a bit behind lately. Part of the reason, of course, was being out of town recently [...]

By |June 15th, 2019|Accountability, Achieving Dreams and Goals, Coaching, Columns, Organizing|Comments Off on Time for a Tune-Up

It’s time to clean up and clear out

We’ve reached the age and stage in our lives when it’s time to downsize, so my husband and I have been spending our time going through closets and cabinets, boxes and bins, and all the nooks and crannies where “stuff” resides and hides. It’s been an interesting endeavor. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a treasure hunt, especially when I come across something I lost track of years ago, wondering from time to time what ever happened to it. Other times I feel like I’ve [...]

By |October 28th, 2016|Buried Treasure, Columns, Family, Organizing|Comments Off on It’s time to clean up and clear out