Living the 7 Habits of Organized People

I received the most wonderful note this week and just had to share it with you. It was in response to my March 18, 2007 newsletter article entitled The 7 Habits of Organized People. I hope you find it to be an inspiring success story.

LETTER FROM KAY

I'm Kay from Tucson, Arizona. I always keep updated on the great organization tips from your website and e-mails, but I must admit that secretly in my heart I've been convinced that only organized people by nature can keep up the habits you suggest or really enjoy doing it. I'd read your ideas and say, "Sounds logical, but it couldn't work for me, the creative, non-sequential thinker."

For example, when I start a project in the house, I never go from step A to B and then to C. No, I go from A to J, N, and W; then back to B, followed by other jumbled alphabet soup letters, and never make it to C.

Well, today I received your short list of 7 Habits of Very Organized People and I said, "OK, I'll test this out. I'll follow the first 2 steps sitting right here at my computer. Hmmm, does each piece of paper in this stack of stuff have a place or does it need to be tossed? Let me just try putting some of these papers back to their assigned homes. No assigned home?? I'll create one (wow, after all, I do like the word create) and I'll do it right now before I place the paper down again on my desk or at some rabbit trail in between."

And it worked. I tossed out most of the stuff. I kept remembering your advice, NO TEMPORARY HOLDING PLACES, And it clicked. I must never let a piece of paper out of my hand until it has found its proper resting place. Even if that meant carrying the little yellow stickee or computer print-out all the way to the bedroom to place in my notebook. And no interruptions in between, either, if I must carry that sole piece of paper through the house.

Later today, I was cleaning up the kitchen counters and saw the automatic rice cooker sitting out since last week. That belongs in the pantry. I put it away. Another temporary appliance met the same fate. So did some vitamins, two opened cookbooks, pans, and utensils (funny, in our house the utensils may get rinsed, but not immediately placed in the dishwasher.) So, again, our new family motto regarding dishes and utensils from all meals will now be Maria's Motto: THERE ARE NO TEMPORARY HOLDING PLACES. In time this motto will extend to more areas of life, but for now, we will start simple with each meal.

I truly believe God prepared my heart to hear your words today which came at the right time on the right day when I was ready to hear and apply them.

One step at a time; one day at a time.

And in a small but BIG way today, I feel like that my LIFE has stepped out from its temporary holding space into a place of a more gentle self acceptance, clear decision making, follow-through, and the road that I know will lead to freedom in more ways then just clutter.

------

Thanks so much, Kay! Beautifully stated.

Keeping Up with My Magazine Subscriptions

Yesterday, a friend asked me how I keep up with the reading of my favorite magazines. She revealed that she has about 12 magazine subscriptions, many of which have been piling up for months--unread. My first secret is pretty simple. 12 magazine subscriptions is way too many for most people. I'm subscribed to these 5 and that's probably even pushing it:

1. Living
2. Memory Makers
3. Simple Scrapbooks
4. Real Simple
5. Cuisine at Home

For the most part, there's only one time of day I read my magazines and that is right before going to bed, for about 20 minutes or so, every other day.

You can actually get a ton of reading done in 20 minutes, especially if you're only reading those articles that are especially interesting to you--I rarely read a magazine word-for-word from cover to cover. I simply find the articles that I know I'll enjoy and read those.

If there comes a time when I feel I can't get through my magazines for a month or two in a row, that will definitely be the time to consider letting one or more subscriptions go.

But for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying each one and there hasn't been a month yet when I've received the new issue in the mail before getting through the previous one.


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Organize Your Healthy Eating Habits

One great way to ensure you're eating healthy regularly is to purchase healthy foods when you go shopping and avoid purchasing those that are not so good for you.

I spend the majority of my grocery shopping time in the fruit and vegetable aisle, and just a little time in the other aisles. Our refrigerator is always filled with fresh carrots, salad greens, broccoli, green beans, grapefruit, and other nutritious choices.

We have a 3-tiered fruit stand that is filled with lemons and limes on the top, avocados in the middle, and apples and pears on the bottom.

Our freezer has frozen fruits and vegetables--none with added sugar, salt or toppings. Even our pantry holds healthy faire, such as crackers, rice and pasta--all the whole grain versions. We are also stocked with walnuts, pecans, cashews and olive oil.

Yes, we do have some more indulgent treats that we eat occasionally stored in our kitchen, such as Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and the like.

But the less indulgent treats we have, the better we end up eating.

I also spend approximately 30 minutes each week deciding what we'll have for dinner for at least the next 4-5 days. Having a definite list helps me to get in and out of the grocery store quickly and encourages me to only buy what's on the list.

I don't bother meal planning for breakfast and lunch. We have about 5 breakfast meals that we eat all the time, alternating each day. For lunch, we almost always eat leftovers from the evening before, otherwise we eat salad.

No matter what nutritional goals you're trying to achieve for you and your family, having an organized thought process will help you to achieve them.

Keeping Seasonal Decorations Organized

I often shop at Hallmark and regularly receive mailers about the latest and greatest products they now have-- generally seasonal type decorative products for the home.

Today, I received a mailer for an Easter chick candy holder. Cute!

While I never overdo with it comes to seasonal decorating, I am known to have indications of the current season in my home. Since Easter is around the corner, I currently have a Heartwood Creek Easter Basket on our fireplace mantel and a bunny snowglobe in my daughter's bedroom. The Easter wreath will go on our entry door soon.

But, I'm often asked, what do you do with your seasonal decorations when you've gone beyond that season?

My solution is simple--large, plastic, see-through containers with lids. I have one for spring, one for summer, one for fall and another for winter. Then, I have two exclusively dedicated to Christmas.

They stack nicely one on top of the other and I have them stored in a closet in my basement. I rotate the order of the boxes so the season furthest away is on the bottom, and the season closest is on the top for easy access.

Since it's easy to store these once the season is over, I just may have to pick up that Easter chick candy holder after all!