February ~ Cuddle and Create

As this holiday approaches I'm always mystified by our outward focus as a society.  We concentrate on what we can do or pretend to be in order to attract the so called love of our lives. Watch TV for an evening and you will discover that the right shampoo, automobile or detergent is the secret elixir of love.  But if we are hollow inside what are we offering and who will we attract? It would be exhausting and near impossible to play act for an entire lifetime, don't you agree?

Getting organized isn't a task for a few afternoons a year.  For me it's a life skill and part and parcel of who I am as a human being.  Have you been to the movies lately or watched a new television program? A set designer has worked with the director and the writer to create a physical setting that tells the audience a lot about the character(s) without a single word being spoken. What does this mean to you?

Take a walk around the block and come back and see what your environment is saying about you. It may be time to get organized this holiday so that the message you are broadcasting is one of high self-esteem and healthy self-love. If your relationship is in the early stages wouldn't that be a wonderful message to broadcast and receive?  In One Year to an Organized Life I've got a bevy of projects for you to choose from and an entire month devoted to the bedroom. I hope yours is a true sanctuary.

And if you're part of an old married couple see what you can do to the environment to spiff it up.  Personally I think that new sheets are a lot sexier than a garment meant to seduce that will be off my body in minutes.  In the same vein stacks of books around a bed aren't very inviting.  Why not invest in an inexpensive bookcase and give those treasured friends a proper home. What obstacles to intimacy do you find in your bedroom when you look with 'fresh eyes?'

Let me know if you tackled any projects in your home in honor of St. Valentine.

Happy Holidays

Have you ever carefully crafted a message on a computer only to hit an incorrect key and watch it all vanish?  Well, you aren't alone.  I just did that to my holiday message.  Let's see how much I can recreate from memory. Yes even professional organizers can be technical morons. We're human too!

The most important part of my message was to wish you all a very happy holiday. It's mid-December and, if you didn't get your ducks in a row for this holiday celebration, remember that you can take stock before the New Year and make better plans for holiday season 2012. Literally make notes about your experience.  Next year you may not remember the details and you will be in jeopardy of making the same errors in judgment about time, money and emotions.  We can't ever rest on our laurels or our failures.  Every day a brand new experience waits for you to carefully and lovingly craft it.  

Here is one of my favorite quotes ~

All things have their season, and in

their times all things pass under

heaven.  A time to be born and a time

to die; a time to plant, and a time to

pluck up that which is planted.

Ecclesiastes, chapter 3

I'm not going to decorate this year. I wish I had the time because I haven't had a tree in years.  But I am working on revising my second book (now out of print) and re-issuing it early in 2012 as an e-book only publication.  I'll tell you more about it after the holidays when I have an official publication date.  

I do know that in May my ninth book is coming out from Da Capo Lifelong Books (a division of Perseus Publishing).  It's called (drum roll, please) The 8 Minute Organizer and it's for those who want to get their feet wet in the world of organizing but know that a one year commitment is beyond their interest ~ at least for now! There will be more about 8 Minute after the first.

Long hours in front of the computer take their toll. I had to shake up my schedule.  Now I have three days of organizing right before Christmas with one of my all time favorite clients and then a week of non stop play.  You see I take the concept of rewards very seriously. I hope this holiday you are surrounded by those you love and celebrating in perfect health.  May you give and receive meaningful gifts.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When you are a child it takes forever to get to the holidays, doesn't it?  Once you become an adult there is a feeling of: "Didn't we just do this?!" I've learned there will be years I can't wait to haul out my decorations and put up a tree.  Each ornament is like a long lost friend appearing at my door. And  then there will be years when I just don't wish to expend the energy.  I learned a long time ago to give myself permission to take each holiday season and celebrate it according to the dictates of my current feelings.  Of course I'm addressing the commercial aspects of the holiday.

Be that as it may, we can put 2010 behind us.  Before we dive into the new year, I think it's fitting to take a few minutes to examine the holiday just past.  While it's fresh in your mind, make some notes.  To wit:

• Did you do anything different this year that yielded great results? Make a note so you remember next year!
• In the same vein, were there things you realized after the fact could have been done with greater skill, joy and dispatch?  Record those notes as well.  No point making the same mistakes next year and asking yourself: "Why didn't I remember that ...?"
• Are you 'done' with some aspects of the holiday?  For example would you like to see another family member host the big holiday meal?   I'd wait a few weeks and then have a conversation with key family members about how the holiday can be different next year.  Make a note on your new calendar to make those calls.  Without a reminder, it will go by the wayside like most good intentions.
• Finally, was there something in your home that wasn't organized and caused you problems?  Were the holiday boxes falling apart?  Or were they stored in such a way that you had difficulty reaching them? it's the little, petty annoyances that can rob you of the potential joy in any experience.  Tend to those details now.  Do it as a present to yourself.  Next year you will be so grateful!

I'd love to hear what you liked, what you wish to change and what you learned about yourself and your family this season.  Are you willing to share? I've got a complete Fall / Holiday guide in One Year to an Organized Life. If you're feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of the same old/same old taking over this new year, I invite you to change step by step with me. I promise to hold your hand for the entire journey .... and beyond.