Posts Tagged ‘resolutions’

Getting Organized

Posted on: February 8th, 2013 by Judith Tremblay No Comments

Since the launch of A New Leaf in 2006, Cathy Mendler has extended her reach beyond the needs of her own clients to inspire individuals and businesses across Canada to organize their space, increase their productivity and simplify their lives.

RESOLVING TO GET ORGANIZED
Whether you need to organize your home, your office–or both–here are some ideas to help you succeed. Let’s get started and turn over another leaf!

Planning
Set aside some time to think about what you want to organize. Make yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink. Grab a pen and some paper. Did you know that if you write down your goals, you are more likely to achieve them?

Create a Master List
Go through your house thinking about one room at a time. Take photos of each room; decorators say you’re able to view it more objectively. Determine what functions each room has to fulfill. If the room has to perform multiple functions, create a different zone for each activity.

Your master list should contain all of the projects that you want to complete. Estimate how long you think each project will take. Be realistic.

The next step is to prioritize your list, and determine which room you will work on first. It’s best to start with the room that causes you the most stress.

Scheduling
When you schedule organizing sessions in your planner or calendar, you’re making a commitment to do the required work.

You may not be able to complete a room all at once. If necessary, divide it into sections, and work on one section at a time. If you only have one hour, pick a project from your list that you can complete in that time period.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do all the work yourself. If you want to organize a number of areas, schedule a family meeting. Involving the whole family in the process can teach them valuable life-long skills. Just remember that children can’t stay focused as long as an adult. Try to make it fun!

It’s also a good idea to schedule a snack break; prepare snacks ahead of time. Plan ahead–when cooking, double a recipe and freeze one batch. At the end of the day when you’re tired, you’ll have an easy meal!

Supplies
Stock up–garbage bags, recycle bin, empty boxes, cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, etc. Label boxes—Keep, Sell and Donate.

Use storage containers that you already own—the ones you emptied when you de-cluttered. For some items, you may need to purge before you can determine what type of containers you need.

Getting Started
Harold Taylor, a leading Canadian time management expert, tells us studies have found that you’ll accomplish more if you focus on one task at a time.

Gather together everything you want to store in an area before you start organizing that space. Start by grouping similar items together, so it’s easier to make a decision about what to keep. Place items that belong elsewhere in a box just outside the room. It’s easy to become distracted if you leave the room.

Resist the urge to tell yourself, “I may need it someday.” Remember to REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE.

Take a break–set a timer–to keep up your energy level. This is especially important when working with children.

Storage
Similar items should be stored together and as close as possible to where they are used. An item is more likely to be put back if its home is close at hand.

Clear storage containers should be used as much as possible, so you can see what is inside. Be sure to label all containers.

Maintenance
Maintaining your organized space will require some effort from everyone. Make tidying up part of your children’s chores. Schedule a daily or weekly clean-up time, so things don’t get out of control. If you find something isn’t working, don’t give up. Schedule a family meeting; a small change may be all that’s required.

Rewards
When you’re done, don’t forget to reward your children and yourself for all your hard work!

For more organizing solutions, check Cathy’s website:
http://anewleaforganizers.ca/

Clutter and Hoarding

Posted on: January 28th, 2013 by Judith Tremblay No Comments

When my husband and I sold our home a little over a year ago and were moving to an apartment, I became aware of how much stuff we had accumulated in the years we lived in our home.

Downsizing was scary at first. I stood in the basement and looked around me and thought, where do I start? On the main floor, the pantry and cupboards were full of dishes and groceries purchased in bulk. The closets were full. The storage cabinets were full.

I did not count the numbers of boxes and bags that were donated and given away. Out the door went shovels, numerous flower pots, clothes, gadgets, knick-knacks, extra curtains, towels and bedding, games, puzzles and books.

I had never thought of myself as a “hoarder”. I kept stuff in case I needed it in the future and it would be silly to have to replace it. For a couple of years I regularly went to yard sales and found numerous deals on stuff that was a good price, or on cute things that I could fix up and use, sometime in the future when I had time to spare…..

I have met several hoarders over the years that I have been working with people in their homes. I attended a three day workshop on working with hoarders, and supplemented that training with a workshop locally to become more aware of the services operated in my city to help hoarders.

I learned that hoarding is an excessive accumulation of things (or animals) and a failure to discard in proportion to what is accumulated. That hoarding means you cannot use a space for its intended use. For example, the dining room table is full of papers and stuff and you cannot use it to eat a meal. The result of hoarding is distress and impaired functioning of the hoarder and/or others living with or caring for, the person who hoards.

There are some red flags that hoarding might be becoming a problem.

1.  How many areas of your home cannot be used for their  intended purpose without shifting things around?
2.  How easy is it to find things when you want them?
3. How difficult is it to walk through the rooms of your     home because of clutter?
4.  How cluttered are the tops of your furniture?
5. When you see things you want, do you feel you have to have them?

Of course, I don’t have the space here to share all of the information I learned in my training. There are two good books if you would like more information. They are: “Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving and Hoarding” by David Tolin, Randy Frost and Gail Steketee and “Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring” by Michael Tomkins.

I would like to tell you that I no long collect clutter, or store things I don’t need. Unfortunately, I am still a “paper hoarder” and an email hoarder. I am working on both though, and am seeing lots of progress. Being aware helps. Understanding why I do it helps.

If you are thinking of de-cluttering your home, or office, you might find my guest column this month very helpful. I have also hired a Feng Shui consultant to help me at work and at home. You will find Iva’s information in this newsletter as well.

Moving Forward

Posted on: October 26th, 2012 by Judith Tremblay No Comments

Is it really the end of October? It seems like I blinked and the summer was over, and then I turned around and it was October!

My Dad told me after he retired that the older he got, the faster time flew by. At the time, I had some difficulty understanding how that could be possible. As a young adult, I worked full time, had two children and a husband, cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, and still found time to go out with friends, participate in a bowling league and take the children to birthday parties and sports stuff.

Now, my children are on their own with their own children and lives, I manage a part-time contract position, a private practice and my web site, newsletter and workshops. My wonderful, retired husband does at least half the laundry and almost all the house cleaning and cooking and baking. You would think that I would have scads of time to attend events, and indulge in my hobbies. Not!

Actually, I have a new appreciation for my abilities to manage stress in a way that has kept me from burning out. That, and my ability to recognize when I need to focus on self-care. I believe that the year I produced the Stress Buster of the Week reminded me of what I need to do to take care of my own stress. Had I not practiced those skills, I believe I was headed for burnout. The last months have been a time of rest, renewal and refocusing on what is important in my life and where I want to focus my energy.

I am looking forward to getting back to the production of my newsletter each month. Future editions will include articles on topics such as managing stress, clutter and hoarding, caregiving, communication, conflict, and relationship issues. You will also find book reviews, guest articles and lots of nutritious recipes.

On my birthday in September, I sat down and reviewed the goals I had made for the last year. I am pleased with my achievements. I also decided on my goals for the coming year and am excited about the future. I hope you will accompany me on this fabulous adventure called life over the next twelve months, and that in some way, I can provide information and support that will help you on your path. As I head into November and the end of the quarter, and of the year, I am filled with gratitude for the abundance in my life, and the love that surrounds me.

 

From Judith’s Desk

Posted on: February 13th, 2012 by Judith Tremblay 1 Comment

How are you doing with those New Year Resolutions that you made? Maybe you make them every year and expect that you will keep them. Maybe you are among the eighty percent of people who do not keep their resolutions.

I stopped making New Year Resolutions the first time someone suggested I replace them with setting goals on my birthday. Originally, on my birthday, I would write down anything I had regrets about or wished I had done differently, and had my own ceremony to put that to rest. Then, I would write down everything I hoped to achieve over the next year and put it away until the next year. I was always amazed at how many of those goals I achieved when I pulled that list out on my next birthday.

Since that time I’ve heard of many different ways to eliminate those resolutions that I had so much difficulty keeping. My own process has evolved to one that gives me little stress, is fun to do, and includes all those wonderful things I want to achieve.  I still make my birthday lists, but now the goals are in the form of vision boards. I always have magazines around and when I am drawn to pictures, words or phrases, I put them in a file to include (or not!) in the next vision board.

At the end of each year, I review the last year’s goals to see where I succeeded and to decide if those things I did not achieve are still important. I also reflect on what I could have done differently and what lessons I learned about myself and my goals during the year.  New Year’s Eve is truly a celebration of successes and a “burial” of all things negative from the past year with an eye to the possibilities for the future.

Then I check my long term goals to see which have been achieved, and cross them off my list. Then I add any new long term goals that I may want on the list. Short term goals are the steps I need to take during the next year to get me to those long term goals.

A very important part of setting goals is to review them every quarter. Some of them will be completed early or may no longer be important and I’ll want to take them off the list right away. I might add some or change some. The important thing is that reviewing them keeps them relevant and in the forefront of my mind, so even unconsciously, I am working towards my goals.

So, if you are stressed or feeling pressured about your New Year’s Resolutions and whether or not you can keep them, find a few minutes this week to take an honest look at them. If you know they are destined to fail, change them.

If you were told this is your last year on earth, what would you want to accomplish? What physical and spiritual needs would you want to meet? What relationships would you want to nurture? Write all that down, and set your goals to reach those needs and desires that are most important to you. If you don’t like making New Year Resolutions, change the time of year to another that is more significant to you.

This is the “Strategic Plan” for your life.