Could less really be more? Over the past several months, I’ve been doing some deep soul searching. Before then, I was terribly materialistic. My husband moved to a better job, which meant we had more extra money. Oh boy, nail salon, new clothes, stuff, stuff, stuff! I soon became this person that wanted more. And more, and more, of…..well…everything. It was like there was a void (why, I have no idea, what, with great friends and family and all that ), and I never felt like I measured up to the “important-person-social-status.” You know what I mean- the people that always have things: new car, upscale house, trendiest clothes, etc. I decided I needed a change, a change on my view of life. Downsizing is the key. My current home is only 800 sq feet, which I think is just fine, but there was SO much stuff. Stuff that I guarantee we haven’t used in over a year. I recently had a garage sale, and am getting ready for another one soon.

This may be the hardest part. You may say,”Oh I’ll just put it up. I might use it for so-and-so occasion.” Chances are you don’t. You just leave it there and pile more stuff on top of it. America is officially the Stuff Culture. We ‘need’ more and more to make ourselves feel complete and up to social standards. This is just pathetic. I’ve just now realized this, but the sad thing is: Many people will never come to this realization.

—-Why Would You Want to De-clutter?

Different people may have different reasons that could apply to them:

-More Freedom. With less stuff, you have less responsibility.

-More Time. Instead of spending half your day cleaning and organizing junk you rarely use (or could go without), you could devote more time to other things you really like to do or things you never had time to do.

-Gain More Breathing Room.

-Determine What your Values in Life Really Are.

—-Ask yourself these questions:

- Have you used it in the past 6months?

-What purpose does it have?

-Is it in your way more than being functional?

-Do you REALLY need 20 of everything? Like, oh say, a million pots and pans that take up half your cabinets when you may only have a 4 burner stove. Girls, do you really need 50 shades of lipstick? (organic lipstick, that is ;D ) Guys, do you really need 50 different hats?

-If there were a fire/flood/tornado/whatever what would you really want to save?

—Stay Uncluttered:

-Do I REALLY need this? Ask yourself this question before you buy it.

-How many times will you actually use it?

-Souvenirs are awesome, but in moderate doses. When you go on vacation, do you really need a souvenir from every single stop you make?

Before you know it, you’ve got so much stuff that you move to the next step, which many people do, and get a bigger house to hold all of your stuff. In my search for simplicity, I stumbled across the Tiny House Movement, which I absolutely admire. These people live in houses anywhere from 75sq ft to 800. (And might I add that most off these houses are really nice! Small, but nice! Tiny doesn’t have to mean it looks like a shack.) Some of them do it because it’s “green.” Some do it just for simplicity. Some want to be less distracted so they can spend more time connecting with nature, God, family, etc.

Other reasons are:

-Going Off Grid. This means getting away from all the bills and having alternative sources of power, water, etc.

-NO Mortgage.

-If your tiny house burns down. No biggie. Build another one. Could you say that about a 2000+ sq ft house? Probably not, since most people pay for them most of their lifespan and put so much of their time into them.

-NO foreclosure. When times get hard, you don’t have to worry about the bank taking you home.

Check out www.tumbleweedhouses.com , www.tinyhousetalk.com (which I <3 ) , www.tinyhouseblog.com , www.relaxshacks.blogspot.com

Check out these sites to help you get started living a burden free life.

http://www.tinyhousetalk.com/how-to-downsize-your-life-in-5-ways/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59r2A0NADTY&noredirect=1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirsten-dirksen/how-to-be-happy-the-burde_b_569884.html

**I do not represent Hiduism (via the Ghandi quote picture at top). However, peace and nonviolence were great views of Ghandi.

This won’t be a one-week job. Logistics (mainly the fact that baby naps in our bedroom) and the shear size of the project mean I’ll have to space this one out over a few weeks. This week I focused on the glaring fashion don’ts, stuff I knew was too big or too small and… my overflowing jeans drawer.

I started with nine pairs of jeans. (FUCK that seems like a lot to me now!) Two I jettisoned last week in yet another carload of shit run to the thrift store. (That makes two carloads so far!) I didn’t think about using jeans as this week’s post, so I didn’t have them for my pic – oh well.

In any event, I started with nine, got rid of two. Down to seven. I knew, however, that I needed new jeans. Have thought this for a while, as my current daily-use jeans are a mix of shoddy Old Navy denim, cute out of the dryer but then woefully big an hour later, hanging off my ass and giving me a yucky mom-who-gave-up sloppy look. Ugh, no thank you!

I wanted cute non-mom mom jeans. You know, jeans that were comfy enough to roll around on the floor with baby, affordable enough so I didn’t mind sitting in the sandbox with baby, but still sexy enough so I could be a hot mom at the park instead of a hot mess.

Wanting to avoid needless purchases, I followed the Minimalist Mom’s 30-Day Buy List suggestion, and made a mental list with new jeans at the top. After 30 days, my Old Navy jeans were still making me want to barf so I went out and bagged two new pairs of hot but comfy non-mom mom jeans. Two pairs out, two pairs in. Back to nine.

As the above diagram points out, nine pairs of jeans is about dog nose height. Too much! I edited out the too-big Calvin Kleins, the janky Old Navy jeans and an ill-fitting pair of NY&Co dark denim that I bought in a rush. Now I was down to four – the two new pairs plus my “fancy” jeans for going out (ha!)

As you can see in the above, my jeans wardrobe is now at a much more reasonable dog elbow height. No more overflowing jeans drawer – and there’s even plenty of room in there for my hoochie mama shorts. Awesome.

Related: After two carloads of donations, I am starting to see an impact in our home. My office is (slightly) less of a disaster area, the upstairs seems a bit neater, and it seems to take less time for the house to go from messy to presentable. I am liking the feeling of freedom less stuff imparts.

TOSS the negative thoughts from your head and DE-CLUTTER!

So, for the past couple of days, I’ve been speaking to several other individuals that are all either approaching age 30, or have already hit the big 3-0 this year.  One thing that we all have had in common so far is that we simply just want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and enjoy life.  But, what does that mean?  If you think about it, that can really mean a lot of things.  This brings me to the idea of “De-cluttering of the mind.”  It’s easy to say, “Look, I’m sick of this 9-5 job, and I’m tired of working with dumb/ignorant people, and I don’t want to spend all of my time and energy working for someone else and never seeing any real benefit from it.”  But how does one go about overcoming those thoughts and really beginning to make progress moving towards what they really want to do?  Maybe this isn’t a universal thing.  Maybe this is just a DC/DMV thing… I really don’t know for sure.  But what I DO know is this – we (us embarking on or just hitting 30) won’t get anywhere until we stop being at of the hustle and bustle for just a second and take the time to De-clutter our Minds!  So, here are some steps you can take when you begin to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and really ready to just let the next person that says the wrong thing to you have it!

According to a web article written by Darren Lee, called Stress management: “Declutter your Thoughts Instead of your House, A Stress Solution for Life,” one way to de-clutter is to write (surprise, surprise, I guess I’m on the right track).  According to Darren, “When you’re stressed you often live with clutter. Clutter in your home, in your office, your car and your life.” Writing about what stresses you can help you release that negative energy and diffuse the stress.  Darren suggests that you create a Stress Journal, write in it for about 10-15 minutes each day about what stressed you and any daily accomplishments – large or small, and do it in a relaxing environment for you.  As I write this blog entry, I am sitting on my balcony in 70+ degree weather in the dark with light jazz playing, a venti Starbucks hot chocolate made with soy milk, and a “Coastal Waters” scented candle burning.  I could really stay out here all night.  P.S. Darren is right, because right now I have been feeling like I live in a home/car filled with clutter.  Definitely time to start working on some Spring cleaning.

Gail Brenner’s online article, “A Simple Guide to Decluttering your Mind” suggests that we ask ourselves a series of questions to decide what is and isn’t important to really think about/hold onto, and let go of.  Whatever thoughts that appear to be holding us/you/me back from progressing and moving forward, Gail says we should ask ourselves the following questions:

• Do I need this? Is it essential or necessary?
• Does it serve me? Is it helpful or useful?
• Am I attached to it? Can I let it go?

All in all, Gail is saying that we should start practicing the art of “letting things go.”  Sometimes that is easier said than done.  I personally have been trying to work hard at that this for over a year – and it hasn’t been an east thing for me.  But, it is definitely an art worth practicing by us all to begin the process of de-cluttering our minds.

Stress relief is all about finding ways to counteract the stress you’re currently dealing with. This includes using various essential oils to counteract the anxiety, insomnia, depression, brain fog, lack of energy, and muscular tension caused by your stress. Other popular, and equally effective, options are listening to relaxing music, meditation, exercise, massage and bodywork, certain herbal teas, yoga, reiki, special breathing exercises, and laughter.

Stress relief is great and everyone could benefit from more of it; but have you ever considered stress reduction? With stress reduction there is no reactionary protocol, there are simply proactive measures. Proactive’s good, right? The path of stress reduction isn’t for the faint of heart, however. It can involve a lot of discomfort (especially at first), some disagreements, a fair number of misunderstandings, tantrums, and some major life changes.

The purpose of this blog post isn’t to lay out a step-by-step plan for how to reduce the stress in your life (you’re the only one who can do that), but merely to get you thinking about some of the ways you might be willing to go about it. I have a few suggestions – somewhat oversimplified in the name of saving space – to get you started:

• Don’t overcommit. Just say no if a request for time, baked goods, your presence on yet another committee, etc. makes you shudder, cringe, or reach for the wine. Many people will appreciate your honesty if you decline their offer by saying you’re already overextended (provided you really are – no lying now, because that creates it’s own stress); they don’t want you doing a half-*ssed job for them, anyway. As for the one’s who don’t care that you’re already overextended and beg you to help out anyway… ask yourself: do you really want to do a favor for someone who doesn’t care about you or your health?
• Declutter your house. This doesn’t mean making it as spartan as a monk’s cell, it simply means getting rid of the “Stuff.” You know, the stuff you thought you needed or wanted but haven’t used for years. If you haven’t used an item or worn a piece of clothing in 3 years or more, it’s time for the old heave-ho. Besides generating some space in your house, it will give your more energy because constant acquisition, maintenance, and storage of items that we don’t want, need, or use saps our precious energy.
• Simplify your life/Prioritize. This means different things to different people, but basically it boils down to assessing what’s important in your life and cutting out the extraneous activities and things in order to make enough room to focus on the important ones and put them first.
• Change your job or career. Being uber stressed all day at work takes it’s toll on your mood which decreases the quality of the time you spend with your family. Remember, people of all ages have changed jobs and careers; some have even started their own businesses in their 50′s or 60′s. It’s never to late to do what you love, or at least to not hate what you do.
• Change friendships. There’s no rule that says once you’re friends with someone that you have to stay friends with them forever. It’s great if you’re still best friends with the person who was your best friend in high school or college; but it’s also great if you’ve grown apart (hey… it happens), recognized that, and let the friendship go. Both are healthy and neither are guilt-worthy.
•  Change romantic relationships. There’s a cliche phrase that cycles through email and social media from time to time that says: people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. The reason this saying continues to make the rounds is because it speaks a truth. Changing a relationship doesn’t always mean ending it, but it might. It can also mean changing some of the rules or dynamics of the relationship, your partner willing of course. My point is, if your romantic relationship stresses you out, something about it needs to change. What change that turns out to be is up to you.
• Change your expectations. There’s very little that’s as frustrating as when your expectations aren’t met. You’ll know your expectations haven’t been met if you say things like “he should…”, “she shouldn’t…”, “how could she…”, “I can’t believe that he did/didn’t…” Do any of those sound familiar? If so, it helps to reframe your expectations. Ask yourself, “what’s the reality of the situation?” Then adjust your expectations to meet that reality. For instance, if someone has the unfortunate habit of lying a lot, it would be foolish to expect them to tell the truth. Ever.
• Get enough sleep. Sleep is when the body repairs and heals itself. Without enough sleep, the body slowly loses the heal and repair game and becomes more susceptible to infections and chronic illness. If you chronically deprive yourself of sleep, for whatever reason, the easiest way to get more sleep is to slowly increase your sleep time. Start by going to bed 15 minutes earlier than you have been (or setting  your alarm 15 later, if that’s your preferred method of sleep deprivation), after about 3 weeks that should be a habit (provided you did it every day). Once it’s a habit, bump up your bedtime (or bump back your alarm time) by another 15 minutes. Repeat until you’re getting the amount of sleep you need.

Remember: you are responsible for your own happiness and no one else’s. Just as you can’t change someone else, no one can come along and magically balance your life and commitments for you.

I would love to hear from you. What have you done to reduce the stress in your life? How did it work? Please share so that others can benefit from your experience.

And of course: Like, Share, Comment, ReTweet, etc.

• Small plastic scraper like this one ~ this comes in handy with the second item. Removes the tags and residue
• Goo Gone ~ every thrifter needs this.
• a good non-abrasive cleaner. Some things need a bit of cleaning
• Cleaning clothes (or paper towels)
• screw driver
• small hammer
• painters tape
• Scissors
• various cans of spray paint

It’s good the have these items in hand for the home in general but I certainly find it handy to have for the things I bring home.

Ummmm….so April has passed but that doesn’t mean I totally forgot about my 2012 Re-Design Project!! April was all about the bathroom. I will let the photos do the talkin.

Au revoir!

Spring is in full swing, and I don’t know about you, but along with it, spring cleaning tends to creep into my psyche. Before I know it, I find myself cleaning and reorganizing everything from what’s in my closet to my computer files.  And the most important part for me is the feeling and the sense of accomplishment I get afterwards, it’s like ahhhh, I can breathe again!

Along those lines, if you are thinking about selling your house this Spring or Summer, de-cluttering your home is one of the most inexpensive yet vital parts of getting your house ready before opening your door to potential buyers.  

It’s vital because most buyers want to see themselves someplace better and more beautiful.  They want the feeling that if they moved in, it will be organized, clean and attractive.  On the other hand, if they walk into a clutter and messy space, there is none of that feeling that life will be better.  A cluttered home also gives the impression that it needs repairs and renovation, even if the house is in good condition.

And believe me I know that parting with things that have emotional value, is very difficult.  We understand the need to do it, it doesn’t cost much, if anything, and yet it’s really hard to get it done.  But rather than stuffing everything in boxes, take advantage of your move, moving is a great opportunity to get organized, I think of it as, “perfect time to edit ourselves down”.  And there are certainly rewards for the effort you put into de-cluttering and downsizing.  For one, you will spend less money for someone to move you, and you’re also going to spend less money for storage.  

And one word of advice, don’t expect to do it all in one weekend, sometimes overwhelming yourself might just become the reason you abandon the whole project altogether.  Give yourself ample time and don’t try to tackle your whole house in one shot.  You can start with closets, kitchen panties, cabinets, and drawers.  The rule of thumb is, be ruthless.  If you’re unsure, or you have not used it for more than a year, then get rid of it.

Happy organizing and yes please make sure you don’t pack away your cat!

After significant soul searching I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s definitely okay to have stuff but just not too much of it. I like to change décor seasonally within my home and found that I’ve got a TON of varying items for all four seasons. Is this necessary? Probably not but I’ve weeded out the items that I haven’t displayed in a year or two and have kept the ones that we like most.

Getting overwhelmed is easy this day and age with stores like Marshall’s and HomeGoods encouraging us to buy more, more, more. The problem lies with where we are going to store it once it’s season has passed… so the next time you’re faced with a purchasing decision remember to ask yourself where will this live when it’s not on display and see if that encourages you to leave it behind rather than take it home.

When are you scheduled for another shopping trip to Marshall’s, HomeGoods or Target?

I’ve always believed honesty is the best policy and lived by that rule. I am who I am, circumstances are what they are, and despite my embarrassment, I have decided to share pictures with you of my unruly home, room by room. It’s messy. It’s dirty. It’s embarrassing. But it’s the truth.

It’s not bad enough to be on Hoarders, but bad enough that I can’t remember the last time we had company. Time for a plan of action- and if I can do it, you can too!

I’ve tried a number of different people’s ideas, calendars, lists, and schedules, including the Fly Lady’s. I really like her ideas, but it simply doesn’t WORK for someone like me. If I’m in pain, I could care less if the kitchen sink is shined. In fact, I don’t really care if it ever shines, as long as it’s not full of dishes all the time. Priorities need to be everything….

Here’s the plan:

1. Establish a few things that simply must be done on a daily basis. Do them!
2. Figure out a plan to declutter, organize, and clean one small area per day. Baby steps!
3. Follow the plan, maintaining completed areas on a regular basis that shall be determined.
4. Share pictures throughout- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Since I’m working from home for a reason, a missed day is NOT the end of the world. I’ll just pick it back up the next day and proceed as if nothing happened.

Try it along with me. We’ll stumble, but we’ll get back up and move on.

The first will be to declutter my life, in several categories, which I will share on this blog.

The second will be to write everyday, which I may or may not share, but will report on from time to time.

I will elaborate more on both of these challenges tomorrow, but today, the commitment is made.

I have been able to get a few projects done (like my new dressing room that I LOVE), but I often find that I end up doing bits and pieces of things, resulting in more chaos. Let’s say that I’m painting…I can get distracted by a drawer that needs cleaned out, or a dust bunny that needs swept. And there goes the painting. By taking on all of these projects, I am also getting rid of many items. These items are going to a few different places…the farm, relatives, the thrift shop, daughter’s apartment, etc. So there they sit until they get to their new homes. I’m tired of it. I finally have the time to get the projects done without distraction and to get rid of the “stuff” that this family has acquired over the years.

So I made a schedule. A schedule that I can adhere to without distraction. I will tackle “zones” in my home throughout the month of May, one at a time. I reclaim my home, starting today.

Day one of the De-Clutter Challenge is to clean up and/or organize the entryway. This is the first spot in your home seen when you (or guests) enter the door. My entryway (more like an entry area) tends to hold all of the “things” that are leaving the house. It is the home of “I’ll just put it here for now” items and we also got into the habit of taking our shoes off and putting them on the runner so we don’t track dirt through the house.  This area makes me insane.

My entry area had a huge glass chandelier (being returned to my mom), two drawer storage cases, two speakers, a container of grass seed (I know, right?), some random pictures, a decorative ladder and some wooden storage boxes.

I’ve been trying to give that chandelier back to my mom for weeks now. Guess what Mom…it’s in the car, heading to your house! The storage cases and speakers are going to the farm to use in the barn. The ladder is also going to the farm (I’m thinking about hanging quilts on it or something…). The pictures are going to our monthly swap meet. Everything else has found a home here. The wood boxes will probably be used in tomorrow’s challenge…the dreaded coat closet!

In an attempt to corral the shoes, I tried to find fabric boxes that I liked, but was not successful. So I made one. I took an ordinary cardboard box, $1.50 worth of fabric and spray adhesive…Ta Da! Fabric box! I used the side flaps as protection in the bottom of the box to catch any dampness or dirt. It is now the home of my favorite comfy pair of flip flops.

And here is the end result. It only took me 20 minutes to do and I ended up wondering why I put it off. This is why I like a schedule, it TELLS me what to do. I don’t want to be a slacker. This is why I post that I’m going to do something, I will be held accountable.

Day One…a complete success. I am happy. Mom’s not going to be when I show up at her house with her giant chandelier. Maybe I’ll have to make a schedule for her?

One of my secrets to keeping a beautiful uncluttered space is to always keep an empty drawer.

Do you remember back to when you were young and used to get given pocket-money for keeping your room tidy? Well, I was smart enough (or devious enough, depending on your opinion) to realise that if I had an empty drawer I could easily sweep all my ‘stuff’ into the drawer, quickly make my bed… and then my bedroom was tidy and I could tell Mum that my room was done (and of course receive my pocket-money).

Genius! Yes, I still think so. Even now, I always keep one drawer in the house empty so that if I feel the desire to sweep all the ‘stuff’ out of sight then it can easily be done. The relief of being able to create an uncluttered space so quickly is amazingly relaxing.

Obviously, this incredible secret does involve a little bit of work, namely going through the drawer and emptying it, but I find that bit easy enough once my mind has been able to enjoy the ‘space’ that was created so effortlessly. The only additional bit of work might be that you don’t have a spare drawer yet… if that’s the case, then you get the pleasure of decluttering one of your drawers.

Easy Action Steps:

• Empty the drawer (yes put all of your ‘stuff’ on the floor)
• Take a duster and clean it
• Then declutter.

Remember it’s a great feeling being completely selective about what you want in your life.

Share your decluttering tips and projects with me below…

Anyway….that is all a preface to a sheet of paper I found in one of the binders. It is called “Rules for a Happy Home.”  I am going to change the name of it to Rules for a Happy Life, as they can be applied to the world at large, as well as to our smaller worlds at home. For lack of a better term, my friend was what we at one time called  a Home Ec teacher. Her responsibilities though were much wider than the days of old when we learned how to cook and sew (I learned that I hate sewing, and cook only because I have to.)

The list is concise, and if you think about it, and if you follow it, you pretty well have a lot of life covered. So without further ado, here it is:

If you wear it………….hang it up.

If you get it out……….put it away.

If you sleep on it……….make it up.

If you drop it……….pick it up.

If you open it………close it.

If you get it dirty………….wash it.

If you turn it on………….turn it off.

If it rings………….answer it.

If it howls……….feed it.

If it cries…………love it.

Admittedly I don’t follow all these tenets, but I am working on it. I usually hang it up if I wear it. At my house, if I want to confuse people I hang their coats in the closet, rather than leave them draped over chairs and couches and tables. After a search of the house, some colourful language, and a plea to help them find their coats, I tell them I put their coats  in the closet.  They get a confused look on their faces (yes, that is you husband John and eldest son Adam) and then blame me for hiding their coats on them. One would have thought that a coat placed in a coat closet would not be the subject of a mystery, but at my house, it is.

I do not always answer it if it rings, nor do I always make it up after I sleep on it—but we all have to have some goals. I love the last one: If it cries…….love it—we all cry out in some manner at times, and we all want to be loved.

(image source)

On Friday, Squirrel emerged from his winter burrow. It happens exactly the same way every year.

He dusts the powder off his bushy tail, scrambles up to the kitchen island, takes a long slurp of his coffee and declares:

“We’ve really got to clean this place up!”

Oh really? I think as I’m unloading the dishwasher with one hand, flipping pancakes with the other, and correcting homework with the third that I seem to have grown during his seasonal absence.

I calmly remind him that the house actually does gets cleaned every week during ski season by the same glorious goddess that makes sure the children are fed, homework is done and everyone is wearing clean underwear.

Here’s where I’m afraid to say it gets ugly and if you’ve come to be fond of Squirrel, please cover your ears. In fact, I’m not even sure I heard it correctly – the sudden rushing of blood to my own head was so deafening. There was talk of that weekly cleaning not being….up to his standards???

Which instantly reminded me of the stashes:

the messes:

the incomprehensible:

And all my passive aggressive heart could think while watching him casually sip his coffee was:

It is so on!

(image source)

In fact, with fighting words like those, I’m feeling decidedly unsentimental about which of Squirrel’s treasures make the moving day cut:

You see, I too have standards.

(Pending an apology, none of Squirrel’s things were actually disposed of in the writing of this blog.)

]]> http://creativecleaning.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/filing-2/ Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:13:47 +0000 Creative Cleaning http://creativecleaning.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/filing-2/ Have you ever sat there while your boss stands over you, desperately searching for that missing document he or she needs RIGHT NOW? Or have you kept a client waiting on the phone for several minutes while you’ve searched for a status report?

If you have, then however organized and effective you are in your day-to-day work, your boss and your client may have a less than perfect opinion of you, because in a key encounter, you’ve let them down. And if it’s your job to help people, how much of other people’s time are you wasting if you can’t find the information you need when you need it?

You owe it to yourself to file effectively, however boring this may seem. Imagine how much more impressive it would have been if – when asked – you’d smiled, accessed a well-organized filing system, immediately found the document, and quickly given the answer!

Managing Time

On a typical work day, we deal with many documents, presentations, graphics, and other files. There’s a flurry of data pouring in from all directions that we need to process and, usually, store to retrieve later. We want to be able to lay our hands on the information we need – at the right moment, when we need it – so it can be used for further analysis or report writing, or perhaps for creating a presentation.

All too often, though, we waste our own time (and often the time of other people) searching for data that’s sitting on the very computer we’re using! This adds to our stress, and makes the task of putting the data to use more difficult than it ought to be. So we need to get more organized and efficient with our file management if we’re going to get our work done in a timely manner.

Managing Information Efficiently

When you receive a file in an e-mail from a co-worker, vendor, or customer, it’s tempting to “just put it away” in some folder for the time being. “Hmm. looks interesting, but I’ll take a closer look at this later, when I’ve got more time.” Sound familiar? Or, worse still, perhaps you just leave the message and its attachment sitting in your Inbox. After a while, many such documents build up, leading to a lot of clutter. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever find time to go back and get all of that information organized, especially considering that you’re usually under pressure with other things.

You can spend hours of precious time searching for data you’ve filed away somewhere, because it’s easy to forget the filename – or even to forget that such information is on your computer in the first place. So how can you go about simplifying your work? Get better at managing files.

Effective File Management

Managing files on your computer isn’t much different from the way you’ve always stored and managed your paper files. It boils down to this: store the information in folders – by category, and in a sequence that makes sense to you.

Here are some tips to help manage your files:

• Avoid saving unnecessary documents. Don’t make a habit of saving everything that finds its way into your Inbox. Take a few seconds to glance through the content, and save a file only if it’s relevant to your work activity. Having too much data on your computer adds to clutter and makes it harder to find things in the future – and it may, over time, slow down your computer’s performance too. Be selective about what you keep!
• Follow a consistent method for naming your files and folders. For instance, divide a main folder into subfolders for customers, vendors, and co-workers. Give shortened names to identify what or whom the folders relate to. What’s more, you can even give a different appearance or look to different categories of folders – this can make it easy to tell them apart at first glance.
• Store related documents together, whatever their type. For example, store Word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and graphics related to a particular project in a single folder – rather than having one folder for presentations for all projects, another folder for spreadsheets for all projects, and so forth. This way, it’s much quicker to find, open, and attach documents for a particular project.
• Separate ongoing work from completed work. Some people prefer to save current or ongoing work on their computer’s desktop until a job is completed. Then, once it’s done, they move it to the appropriate location, where files of the same category are stored. At periodic intervals (for example, weekly or every two weeks), move files you’re no longer working on to the folders where your completed work is stored.
• Avoid overfilling folders. If you have a large number of files in one folder, or a large number of subfolders in a main folder – so many that you can’t see the entire list on your screen without scrolling down – break them into smaller groups (subfolders or sub-subfolders). Think of creating a sequential menu, arranged either in chronological or alphabetical order, to make retrieval easy. For instance, you can divide a folder called “Business Plan” into subfolders called “BP2008,” “BP2009,” and “BP2010.” Likewise, you can divide a folder for a client named Delta Traders into subfolders named “Delta Traders sales presentations” and “Delta Traders contracts.” The idea is to place every file into a logical folder or subfolder, rather than have one huge list of files.
• Having said this, there is usually little point in creating a folder for fewer than about five documents. If you do, the time you spend clicking through subfolders to get to the documents you need may not be outweighed by the greater ease of finding them.
• Install Google Desktop on your PC. If you can (sometimes IT departments don’t permit this), install Google Desktop on your PC – you can find this at http://desktop.google.com. This neat tool creates a desktop search engine that indexes all of your files and emails, meaning that you can search for them quickly and easily. This can be invaluable when you need to answer offbeat questions!
• Make sure your filing system is backed up. Again, this is a bit tedious, but it’s so important, as anyone who’s had a failed disk drive will testify! Make sure, firstly, that your PC is backed up regularly and, secondly, that the backup includes the directories where you file information.

Prioritizing Your Files for Action

Take these approaches further by customizing your file management. This can help you prioritize your work, which can lead to better efficiency.

• Organize files by dates. Incorporate a date into the file name. This will help you determine which is the most recent document in the folder, without having to open the file and read through the content. For example, a file named “Guidelines 12Oct07″ would indicate a version of the Guidelines file dated October 12, 2007. (If you’re working internationally, be aware that in some countries this date can be presented as 101207, while in other countries, this same date can be shown as 121007. This can be very confusing!)
• Some people use version numbers to distinguish between documents that have been reworked or changed. Examples would be “Delta Traders contract v1″ and “Delta Traders contract v2.” This also makes it easier to pick out the most current file.

Tip:
If your document is going to be looked at, used, or amended by several people, you need to be particularly careful about version control: people quite rightly can get very annoyed if versions are mixed up and their work on the document is lost.

Make sure you put the version number in the file name here, and also consider having a version control table at the beginning of the document showing the version number, the date of the version, the person making changes, and, perhaps, the nature of changes made.

• Use “Tickler” files. Tickler files, also known as the “43 folders” method, are a unique system that’s used by many people for organizing files. Create 12 folders (one for each month of the year) and an additional 31 subfolders (for each day of the month). Fill each folder with the documents that you need to work with on that day. At the beginning of each day, open the folder for that day. Take all the items out of the folder and move them into a “today” folder or onto your desktop. Then move the empty folder into the corresponding slot for the next month. If you can’t complete some work items by the end of the day, transfer them to the folder for the next convenient day. This system of file management helps you keep track of everything you need to do, and it also doubles as a diary.

For any system to be useful and effective, it must also be convenient for you. To some extent, this depends on the nature of your business or the work that you do. So, although there’s no “one size fits all” solution to file management, you will likely profit by using some of these file management tips, and by customizing them in a way that best serves your own needs.

Key Points

Are you losing too much time searching through the clutter on your computer for files that you need? And when you’re under pressure, can you retrieve information quickly and easily?

Spending precious time looking for data can take the pleasure out of any kind of creative work you might be doing – and it adds to your stress levels as well. Simple good file management habits can hugely simplify your working life!

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_85.htm

1. I jogged 5 km continously for the first time in my life.

2. I completed my milk bag mat for Africa.

This is me after I completed my first 5K.

I live in Toronto, so when the weather became incredibly beautiful for about a week in March, I decided to start running (or jogging, really). I started off with 2 km, and decided to work my way up from there. My first day, I ran in intervals, telling myself to simply make it to the end of the street. The second time I went out, I wanted to run a little bit farther, so I was trying to make it to the fire hydrant about 20 meters beyond my first stopping (walking) point. However, as I neared the fire hydrant, I was amazed that I didn’t feel winded yet (which is usually what slows me down). So, I put up a farther milestone, but I passed that, too. I ran the whole way on my second run! Well, that did it for me. I was hooked.

I was trying to run 3 times a week, while increasing each week by about .5 km. Then I received an email update from WordPress telling me about the Worldwide WordPress 5K. I knew that I would have to step up my game if I was going to make 5 km in about a month and a half, so I increased it by 1 km two weeks in a row. I am really excited, and I hope to do another 5 km “run” in a couple of weeks to help support our local pregnancy care centre.

I also adore MapMyRun.com which is what I use to gauge my distance. I also “treated” myself by running through a ravine near our home. First time for everything!

Let me just say this: If I can do it, then anyone can I also love this quote: “Someone who is busier than  you, is running right now” – Nike

Secondly, I completed my crocheted milk bag mat! I have been huffing and puffing through this one, so I am super excited to share this achievement with you. I wrote about this a couple of months back, and I just wanted to give you an update. Here is my original post. And here is me with my mat:

It will be sent off to Africa in a short little while. I will hopefully finish the last of my other mat that I have on the go, and then send off the remaining milk bags to Africa, where they now have a program where the people there crochet sleeping mats (bugs won’t nest in these), sandals, and bags to name a few. What a great cause!

What have you achieved this year that you would like to brag about? Please share! I want to know

Diesel

Some things just make my head hurt. For instance trying to calculate fuel consumption for my Hatteras. After doing some research and investigating the many different variables, I decided that without installing flow meters on each of the Detroit engines a guesstimate would have to do.

Without nitpicking hull speed, weight, RPMs, wind and tidal flow, lets say she gets about one gallon per mile at nine knots per hour. This is a best-case scenario.  I have heard horror stories of cruising full open burning 70 gallons per hour! Still with over a 1000-gallon fuel tank at a discounted rate of $4.79 per gallon an estimated fill up totals over $4799.00!!!

What does this have to do with getting rid of my stuff you ask? Well, they both make my head hurt!  Decisions, decisions! What goes, where does it go, and how does it get there?  Should I eat this year or fill up the fuel tanks?

Pondering these questions has forced me to learn about new options.  Happily I discovered that EBay has a program that allows you to donate a portion or all of your sales to your favorite charity.  They actually credit you back for a portion of your shipping and sales fees in proportion to your donation. Give 10 percent and get 10% rebate in fees.  Give 100% and get 100% rebate in fees! Pretty cool!

This prompted yet another decision.  With so many choices, which charity should I pick?  Staying true to my goal of moving aboard I decided that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation would be my choice.  They work for a better environment and for all the creatures living in it.

This gives me a little peace of mind that I can do a little to repay any damage that boating does to the bay.  Not that with the rising fuel cost I’ll be doing very much damage to the environment! I am sure at first I would be delighted with the weight loss, but things would soon turn ugly if I had to give up chocolate for an extended period of time.  No one wants to see that!  Grrrrrrrrr!!!

Jakikiri Joka Ho

Photographers note: There are four different textures applied to this image that I created during various shoots for Jakikiri Joka Ho.