It Isn't About the Work

Last night, my husband, Joe, and I went out to see War
of the Worlds, the retelling of the H.G. Wells classic
starring Tom Cruise. Critic reviews have leaned negative on
this movie, but we gave it a thumbs up. We found it quite
entertaining and enjoyed discussing it afterwards over
pasta and pizza at a new Italian bistro in town.

We arrange these "us-only" nights at least once a month.
Although we love our toddler, Amanda, dearly, it's nice
once in awhile to be able to go out alone and really focus
on each other, rather than spending the majority of our
time entertaining our 18 month old.

So many people we know never take the time to enjoy their
important relationships. I hear it time and time again.
"My husband (or wife) and I are too busy to do
anything fun with each other. With our work schedules,
and tasks around the house, there's never enough time.
Maybe someday, when we retire, we'll find that time."

This is so sad. Each day goes by so quickly. I can't even
imagine giving all of my time to work-related activities,
and very little of it to the people I love to be with the
most.

Part of being organized is making sure to fit quality time,
with the people you enjoy being with, into your schedule.
No matter how busy you may be, there should always be time
to share with a spouse, a relative or a good friend.

Life isn't about the work, it's about the rewards.

For hundreds of free organizing tips,
visit Get Organized Now!

Do You Have Any Time to Breathe?

"Maria, after reading your biography, I was discouraged.
You're just one of those super women always running from
one activity to the next with no time to breathe. I mean,
you don't even have a second to do absolutely nothing. You
don't take any time to smell the roses."

This is just a brief--and nicer--summary of a comment I
received yesterday. Wow, this person doesn't know how far
off base she is! How unfortunate that she doesn't really
get what it means to be organized.

Twiddling my thumbs?
I'm not even sure what this woman means by "doing nothing."
Does she mean meditating? Staring at a wall? Sleeping the
morning away? Twiddling my thumbs?

As a matter of fact, you wouldn't believe how much free
time I have for my family, my friends and myself BECAUSE
I'm organized. If I wasn't, I would just have stress
and frustration. There would be no time for peace and
enjoyment at all.

Yesterday, I sat outside on the deck just watching the rain
clouds blow in, and the day before I smiled as I watched my
daughter running around barefoot in the plush, green grass
of our backyard. Is that doing nothing? If so, I do a lot
of it.

What does it mean to be organized?
Contrary to this person's thinking, being organized doesn't
mean your entire day is jam-packed with tasks,
appointments, errands and activities.

It doesn't mean you're running from one activity to the
next--I never run for anything, as my husband will attest.
He is always ten paces ahead waiting for me!

It doesn't mean you don't have time to breathe--I breathe
all the time . . . without any problem. Being organized is
not about living on a never-ending treadmill of things to
do.

We all have tasks to do each day in our home life as well
as our work life. We can't just blow these off, without
serious consequences.

The bottom line . . .
Being organized is "finding everything you need when you
need it, and getting everything done when it's due." Why is
that so important? Because being organized allows you to
cut the clutter, clear your mind of stress and chaos, and
free your schedule so you have plenty of available time to
enjoy your life, whether you choose to spend that time
doing "something" or "nothing at all." It's your choice.

For hundreds of free organizing tips,
visit Get Organized Now!

Oh Well, What Can I Do?

Today, I overheard two moms in a restaurant booth behind
me. Both moms had toddlers with them--about 18 months old
or so--both literally wearing their macaroni and cheese
lunches on their faces, hands, and hair. The one noticeable
difference between the two kids was that Mom A's child was
wearing a bib and Mom B's child was not.

Baby wipes, of course, cleaned up both kids well at the end
of the meal as far as their bodies, but Mom B's child's
clothes were a disaster. And I recognized the outfit style
from Gymboree--a fairly high-end kids' clothing store--so I
knew she spent a pretty penny on it.

Anyway, the portion of the conversation that caught my
ear . . .

-----

Mom A: Why doesn't Katie wear a bib? Her clothes are
getting stained.

Mom B: She doesn't like to. She pulls it off. I hate that
her clothes that I've spent good money on are so stained.
I'm so tired of changing her outfit after each meal and
then spending my evenings stain treating and laundering her
clothes. Oh well, what can I do?

-----

My conclusion: This poor little girl has been living her
toddler years in stained clothes and her mom feels this
is just the deck of cards she has been dealt.

I felt like offering some suggestions like . . .

1. Pin your child's bib closed with a safety pin so it's
nearly impossible for her to pull it off.

2. Don't let her win. You're the mom. She's the kid. Teach
her to keep her bib on or she gets a timeout for not
listening.

3. Have her wear an artist's smock instead--one she has to
put her arms into and velcros shut so it's not easy to
remove. If she can still remove it, have her wear it
backwards with the velcro in the back.

4. Bring an extra shirt and pull it over her current
outfit to minimize stains. Have her use that shirt whenever
you go out to eat--it will be stained, but that's only
one shirt and not every single outfit.

5. Strip your kid's shirt off until she's done eating. You
probably wouldn't want to do this in a restaurant, but it's
perfectly acceptable for your home, or grandma's house.

. . . but I held my tongue.

Anyway, my point here is not only about bibs, but about
choices. There are almost always a number of choices to
help solve life's little annoyances, whether it's a baby's
stained clothes, a filing system in which you can never
find what you're looking for, or a room in your home that's
so cluttered that you would faint if anyone saw it.

As long as you're always in continuous improvement mode,
with an "I'll definitely solve this problem if it's the
last thing I do," attitude rather than saying, "Oh well,
what can I do?," you'll find that those little annoyances
start melting away one by one.

For hundreds of free organizing tips,
visit Get Organized Now!
 

Where There's Smoke . . .

(Click photo to enlarge.)

I walked out my door this morning
and saw a thick, black cloud of smoke
bellowing over the horizon. I also
heard sirens and saw a news helicopter
circling the area.

Laura, one of my neighbors, revealed it was a tire fire--
the tires in tire recycling center a few miles away
were on fire. I'm sure I'll be reading more about it in
tomorrow's newspaper and I certainly hope there were no
injuries.

My husband, Joe, had to run a few errands and needed to
drive past that area. When he returned home, he told me
there were more than 50 cars parked in a field by the side
of the road, lined up like they were in a drive-in movie.
People were sitting on their car hoods watching the flames
and smoke in the distance.

They couldn't really see much from where they were, but
that didn't stop them from being there. Did they really
give up everything they had to do today just to watch the
continous stream of smoke? Or, were they so organized,
that they finished everything on today's To Do list by
10:00AM and thought they'd use their free time relaxing
the rest of the day under the black sky?

It's anyone's guess.

For hundreds of free organizing tips,
visit Get Organized Now!
 

Welcome!

Today, over lunch, my husband, Joe, casually mentioned
something about a blog he came across while doing his daily
marketing research. A blog? Yes, I've heard that term
before, but what exactly was it? I immediately hopped on
the Web and did a Google search. Seconds later, I learned
that a blog is basically a diary of sorts--ramblings and
observations of thoughts that come up on a daily basis.

Hey, why don't we have a blog?! It would be the perfect way
of sharing, from a very personal perspective, tidbits
related (or somewhat related) to organizing on a daily
basis.

So with a little bit of research and Joe's natural
designing and programming abilities, here it is. Our new
blog. Hope you enjoy it!

For hundreds of free organizing tips,
visit Get Organized Now!