No Regrets

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the fact that you missed out on living a normal uncluttered life, spent time struggling with the problem of “stuff”, and could not have friends over freely because you were embarrassed of your space. So throw off the lines that bind you to the problem and sail away from the old way of life. Be brave, set your sail, and bravely head for the order, beauty and uncluttered life just over the horizon.

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Your House is Your Larger Self!

“Your house is your larger self.”

The house is not just bricks and mortar, furniture and personal items. Your psyche,
as a woman, is intrinsically connected to the condition of the house.

The problem is that a messy house does not properly reflect our better qualities. Instead it reflects our fears, bad habits, and misplaced ideas. What would your house look like if it reflected
you in the way you want it to?

That is something to ponder by Messies.com!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

Retrieval and Return…How Organized Are You?

Ask yourself two questions as you organize your storage.

1. Will this item be easy to return?

2. Will this item be easy to get out?

If what you need is hard to reach when you need to retrieve it — you will frustrate yourself. If what you have gotten out is difficult to return you will
be tempted to leave it out rather than struggle to put it back.

Several secrets are important:

• Do not crowd your items into storage space. It is hard to work with jammed in things.

• Put your grouped items into baskets and label the baskets with bold print (and maybe a picture especially if you have kids)so you will know where things are located.

• Put the baskets on shelves. Make your items easy to return and retrieve.

Your organizational life will benefit.

Thank you Sandra Felton for these great thoughts!

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Keeping Useful Business Cards Handy

Here us an idea that might help those of you who tends to lose business cards and phone number notes:

Buy the pre-sized magnets that fit the back of a business cards. When you get a business card that you KNOW you will need again, attach the magnet and “store” the card on your refrigerator or file cabinet.
You can keep some of your handier number available like you hairdresser, veterinarian, dentist, gyn, primary physician, and a few other “important” cards arranged on the front of your fridge. Then when you have
the time and inclination to enter the card information into your electronic address book (on your phone or computer), you know exactly where to find the card. Keep the card on the fridge for easy/quick access when you
need to make a call. There’s no rule that you can’t take 2 or 3 business cards, so you could keep one at
your dressing table and one on the fridge, or in medicine cabinet, or wherever it “fits” the card.

Happy Business Card Organizing!

Bridges

The Doctor of Organization

Here is a funny excerpt from Sandra Felton and Marsha Sim’s brand new book, SMART OFFICE ORGANIZING

…more Diagnoses by the D.O.(Doctor of Organization) Chapter 3, “Not Brain Surgery…but close”

Decisionalysis. Paralysis of the decision-making ability of an individual.

Clutterholic. Compulsively creates chaos in well- ordered areas.

Shelf Denial. Avoidance of acquiring enough shelving to hold the necessary equipment, resulting in the use of floor space as one large flat shelf.

Distractophelia. Condition of repeatedly losing focus in the middle of a thought or action, resulting in a trail of started-but-unfinished activities.

“Creating and maintaining an office that both looks good and works well definitely isn’t as difficult as performing brain surgery. But for many of us who
seem to have come up short in the distribution of organizing genes, it feels like it is.”

I thought these definitions were quite entertaining and I wanted to share them with you for a quick laugh.

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Jump Start Your Day

Your first activities in the morning influence how successful and productive your day will be.

Do two things as soon as you get started with your activities.

1. First thing in the morning, accomplish one important project. Plan that project the day before so you will be ready to go early on.

2. Then knock off the low hanging fruit, that is, do those obvious things that are easy to do and can be accomplished quickly.

When you jump-start your morning, you build momentum for the rest of the day!

Thank you Messies Anonymous for the great tip!

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Letting Go

At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough. No record of it needs to
be kept, and you don’t need someone to share it with or tell it to. When that happens–that letting go–you let go because you can.

In their book, Time for Life (p.91), Robinson and quoted the novelist Toni Morrison’s book, Let Go.

Happy Purging! Bridges

EASE OF RETURN AND RETRIEVAL

Do you find it hard to find your items after you put them away?

Can you find what you need when you need it?

Storage of some items are essential but the key is easy retrieval…and the ability to put it back easily! Here are some great tips from The Organizing Lady:

Ask yourself two questions as you organize your storage.

1. Will this item be easy to return?

2. Will this item be easy to get out?

If what you need is hard to reach when you need to retrieve it — you will frustrate yourself. If what you have gotten out is difficult to return you will be tempted to leave it out rather than struggle to put it back.

Several secrets are important:

• Do not crowd your items into storage space. It is hard to work with jammed in things.

• Put your grouped items into baskets and label the baskets with bold print (and maybe a picture especially if you have kids) so you will know where things are located.

• Put the baskets on shelves. Make your items easy to return and retrieve.

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Your organizational life will benefit.

An Organized House

Creating an organized house is a process that goes through several phases – getting it organized,
keeping it organized, and, finally, loving it organized.

GETTING IT ORGANIZED
A person who chronically struggles with clutter needs a straight forward and powerful plan in order to turn that way of life around. Any plan or process that works for you and is consistently followed has a place. If you need help developing that plan, hire someone who understands your needs and can help!

KEEPING IT ORGANIZED
Once the house is basically organized, you need a plan for maintenance. A big idea is to change your habits from leaving things out to putting them back as you use them. This is the famous STOW AS YOU GO™ war cry of Messies Anonymous

LOVING IT ORGANIZED
But there is a final instrument in the organizational orchestra. It is the nudge, the itch, and shall I say
it, the love of this way of life. No rules, tips, or strategies can replace the internal desire to keep the house nice in little ways that will never make
it to a list or plan. Keep going until you reach this stage and you will never go back to clutter again.

Thank you Sandra Felton with Messies Anonymous for this great article!

Happy Organizing! Bridges

Make Your Bed

I am a firm believer in making your bed everyday! I am usually making as I am getting out of bed. There is just a better feeling than walking back into your bedroom and seeing a nicely made bed. It does wonders for your spirit! I found a great article on creating an incentive to encourage you to make your bed by Sandra Felton! Enjoy…

CONTINUE TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS!

Sometimes we think of the bed as rumpled bedclothes that need to be straightened just because it is the custom in our country to do it. We think of it as a nuisance job that will only need to be redone the next day.

Instead think of it as the largest and potentially most beautiful piece of furniture in the house. Design your bed so that it is worth making up. Do you need a new spread or more pillows?

Obtain whatever inspires you to the point that your bed will cast a happy glow over your house. Viewed properly, making the bed can become a positive and creative pleasure.

Take control of your thinking and your actions will follow.

Happy Organizing! Bridges