Peace of Mind Organizing

A gentle plan for getting things done during stressful times

2 November 2026

Kirby, in 2014.

I first published this post in July 2014, and I’m re-sharing it because “working through stress” is something we all face sooner or later. The details of my tools have changed since then (these days I’m much more likely to capture everything in my Bullet Journal than in an app), but the underlying strategies still hold: keep the basics going, write things down, focus on what matters, and be extra kind to yourself. If you’re in a stressful season right now, I hope this helps. The original post was published in July 2014—you can find it here if you’re interested.

Since my schedule lightened up a couple of years ago, I’ve lived with relatively little stress. I work hard, which is occasionally stressful, but it’s good stress, since I love my clients and my work. Everything else has been on a pretty even keel. I know that I’m very fortunate._

But this month I’m facing some pretty serious health concerns for loved ones. And this morning my beloved standard poodle, Kirby, woke up not feeling well. We have a vet appointment this afternoon. (That’s him in the photo, on our friend’s porch.)

The worry is driving me to distraction. I know I can’t spend my time worrying because (a) it does no good and (b) I have stuff that needs to get done.

So I got to thinking about what I can do for myself to help me be productive, rather than just miserable, during these times of stress. Here’s what I came up with—maybe it will help you when you’re feeling stressed.

• Stick with my habits and make sure the basics get done. Luckily, my habits are pretty ingrained, so they’re getting done. Ignoring the laundry will get me nowhere, so there are clothes in the wash as I type. Letting my blog go unwritten is also not helpful, so here I am blogging.
• Have a good task list. A solid, realistic daily task list gives structure to my day and helps me know what to do next. (These days, I’m using TeuxDeux to keep track of tasks.)
• Know what’s important. I’m focusing on putting items on my task list that are both urgent and important. Now is probably not the time for me to launch new initiatives.
• Write everything down. My memory isn’t great anyway, but when I’m stressed out it’s really bad. I don’t want to worry about forgetting something, so I’m writing things down, primarily in Evernote (except tasks, which are going in TeuxDeux).
• Distract myself with some fun stuff. I’m trying to keep my daily task list short, leaving me some time to immerse myself in enjoyable, productive endeavors, like knitting, reading or genealogy research.
• Avoid mindless internet or channel surfing. It’s so easy to get on Facebook and lose a half hour (or more) watching dumb videos. That can be mercifully mind-numbing, but also completely unproductive. I’m trying to avoid that by consulting my task list and staying away from Facebook. But I do allow myself the occasional Facebook break—which I keep in check with the help of a timer.
• Practice self care. I’m always urging my clients to take care of themselves and not put everyone else’s needs before their own. That’s something that’s important for me to remember right now.

If all goes well, the majority of the health concerns should be over in about six weeks (shorter for Kirby, I hope!), so this is short term. I can’t put my life and work on hold for six weeks but I can practice the above coping mechanisms.

A Simple Change for a Calmer Workspace

26 October 2026

I first published this post in March 2013, and I’m re-sharing it because the message still holds up: you don’t always need a big overhaul to feel better in a space. Sometimes it’s one small, specific annoyance—something you see every day—that quietly adds stress. This is a simple (and very doable) home-office fix I made back then, and it’s still one of my favorite reminders to look for the tiny change that can make a surprisingly big difference.

I rearranged my office furniture last weekend, the most notable shift being moving my desk 90 degrees. I also moved a stand that holds a laser printer and a Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner, so that the stand now backs up to my desk.

It’s great because it allows me to hide cords. But there was a negative side effect: When I sit at my desk, I now have a view of the back of the printer and the scanner. The problem with that is the scanner back is covered with electrical and warning labels. They’re not only ugly, but sort of urgent and stressful. That absolutely wasn’t going to fly. Check it out:

In a moment of inspiration—the type of inspiration that doesn’t usually come easy to me, so I’m particularly excited about it —I thought of just the thing to turn this situation around.

My friend, Sally Brown of Roll Over Rover Threads is an amazingly talented illustrator. Her pet-related designs decorate her fabulous t-shirt line. I help her every year at trade shows and am in love with these designs. So I simply went to her website and (with her permission) copied some of my favorite illustrations into a Pages document. (Pages is the Mac’s word-processing program.) The illustrations were in squares and four squares in a row was just the width I needed. I printed them out on my color ink-jet, cut out the strip and taped it to the back of the scanner, using double-sided tape. I used two removable Avery labels to cover the areas between the two cords.

Here’s the result.

When I look up from my keyboard, I now see beautiful illustrations that make me happy and that are infused with the love and support of my dear friend, instead of ugly manufacturing labels.

It was such a simple fix. And it changed everything.

Take a look around your space. Are there any simple improvements you could make to make the space more beautiful and comfortable?

Procrastinating again? Identify your barrier—and move forward

19 October 2026

I first published this post in 2020, and I’m re-sharing it because procrastination is something most of us wrestle with at least occasionally (me included). In it, I point you to a quick quiz created by my friend and podcast cohost, Shannon Wilkinson, that helps you identify your procrastination barrier (confidence, reward, enjoyment, or focus). Once you know what’s really getting in your way, it’s much easier to get unstuck. If you want more practical strategies like these, come join us on our podcast Getting to Good Enough (link below).

I think most of us procrastinate at least sometimes. (If you never procrastinate, you can go ahead and put off reading this post until later.) I used to be a terrible procrastinator, back when I was a writer. Since becoming an organizer 15 years ago, I’m better about it. But there are still tasks I put off. They’re usually tasks I don’t think I’ll enjoy. If they don’t have a deadline I have really hard time getting started on them.

I learned that enjoyment was my barrier to getting started on a task when I took the quiz that my friend, life coach and podcast cohost, Shannon Wilkinson, created. Shannon is a wizard when it comes to helping people get over procrastination. She created the six-question quiz so you can identify the source of your procrastination. (The four barriers are confidence, reward, enjoyment and focus.) And she created a six-page guide and worksheet to overcome each type of procrastination. It’s yours free when you visit her website.

Just check out Shannon’s Less Angst More Action: The Anti-Procrastination Guide to get started.

Once the quiz helped me identify enjoyment as my barrier (I’m kind of shocked that’s not why everybody procrastinates), I’ve been able to use her worksheet to help me get in touch with the benefits of doing the dreaded task. And then the barriers just vanish. It’s a little like a miracle.

I haven’t read the other guides, but I’m sure they’re equally great and I encourage you to take the quiz and check out the guide that pertains to you. You may find yourself, like me, doing important things you’ve been putting off forever.

And if you come away from the whole thing with an appreciation for Shannon’s particular brand of genius, I encourage you to tune into our podcast, Getting to Good Enough where you can benefit from her wisdom every week!

Afraid to toss paper? Ask yourself these 5 questions first

12 October 2026

I wrote this post back in 2012, and I’m re-sharing it because paper is still one of the biggest sources of “just in case” clutter we see. When you’re worried you’ll need something later, it’s easy to keep everything—and then the piles create even more overwhelm. These five questions are a quick way to calm the fear and make confident decisions, one sheet at a time.

Sometimes when I work with clients, I realize that they’ve hung onto a lot of paper out of fear. They’re afraid that they’ll toss or shred a piece of paper and find out later that they need it.

When you’re afraid to let go of paper, before long you get overrun with it. Then you add a feeling of overwhelm to the fear and becomes really hard to go through the paper.

So to make things a little easier (and perhaps take away some of the fear), here are the five questions I suggest you ask yourself when you’re trying to make a decision about whether or not to keep a particular piece of paper (particularly paper related to finances):

• Can I get this information online?
• Can I replace this paper if necessary?
• Have I kept this type of information in the past and, if so, did I reference it?
• Can I scan this document and keep it electronically?
• What’s the worse that can happen if I get rid of this?

The fact of the matter is that very few papers are irreplaceable. So fear of getting rid of them is pretty unwarranted. You can always ask your tax advisor or your financial planner for advice. But hanging onto unneeded paper can weigh you down.

Why not take a few minutes now to go through your file cabinet and get rid of some outdated paper? (Don’t forget to shred anything with identifying information like social security numbers or account numbers.)

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

How decluttering is like exercising

5 October 2026

I first published this post on May 16, 2014, when I belonged to a gym. After leaving the gym a few years later, I had quite a few years without a solid exercise routine, primarily doing at-home yoga. But in January 2025 I started working out with a trainer weekly and that’s been the key to getting me to exercise. The benefits have been huge. A dozen years later, this post still resonates with me!

I’ve had my struggles with getting myself to exercise over the years and I’ve detailed some of them on this blog. The bottom line for me is that I’m pretty fit and pretty slender without going to the gym, so getting myself to go has been challenging, since I don’t enjoy it that much.

But now that I’m past 50, it feels like more of an imperative. I know that regular exercise will help me age more gracefully and healthily. I know that it will help stave off osteoporosis, which runs in my family. I know that it might help with the fact that my stomach is no longer perfectly flat. (Certainly, not exercising isn’t going to help with that!)

So I’m trying to make exercise a priority. But it’s not easy because I’m very busy with work. And did I mention I don’t enjoy it that much?

Back in October 2013 I joined a gym, the tiny exercise studio called Take Action just a couple of blocks from my home. The membership and some personal training sessions with Take Action owner Jeanna Jackson were a (requested) 50th birthday gift from my husband. At that time, I discovered the similarities between personal trainers and professional organizers.

So the other day, as I was going through my exercise routine—created for me by Jeanna—I got to thinking once again about how exercising for people like me is like decluttering for folks struggling with clutter. I’ve already mused here about the how both decluttering and exercising get easier with practice. But more recently, I’ve been thinking about these similarities:

• You might not feel like doing it, but afterward you’re glad you did
• It can be hard to find the time
• Both decluttering and exercising can be easier to do when you have company (and/or guidance)
• You may not see instant results, but little by little you see progress
• Any effort at all is worthwhile
• You’re frequently struck by inspiration while exercising and while decluttering/organizing
• Both can become habits

When I look around my house and see the progress I’ve made over the years in keeping order despite being a naturally messy person, I know I can make progress in with exercise. I’m working on focusing on the benefits and making it a priority. I hope one day soon to make exercising a natural part of my day just as certain habits for keeping order (like clearing off my desk every day) have become habits.

Photo by Andrew Kayani on Unsplash.

Re-running favorites through the end of the year

30 September 2026

I’m going to try something a little different for the rest of 2026: I’m going to focus on re-sharing older posts from the archives.

I’ve been blogging for nearly 20 years (my blogiversary is in November!), and in that time I’ve published more than 1,700 posts. While I still love writing and connecting here, I’m also ready to build a bit more ease into my life. And I’ll be honest—after two decades of blogging, I’m finding it takes more effort than it used to to come up with fresh ideas.

So between now and December 31 (and perhaps beyond), you’ll see me re-running posts I still love—posts that feel evergreen, posts that readers have told me were helpful, and posts that I think are worth bringing back into the light.

A couple of notes about how this will look:

• I’ll add a short italicized intro at the top with a little context about why I’m sharing it again.
• I may give a re-run a new title (because sometimes a different title fits how I’d describe it today).
• If I’m inspired to write something brand new, I’ll absolutely do that too.

My hope is that this approach keeps the blog useful and fun—without me feeling like I have to reinvent the wheel every week.

Thanks for being here, for reading, and for letting this blog evolve over time. If there’s an older post you remember loving (or a topic you’d like me to revisit), I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Worth repeating: Happy surprises might be hiding in your mail

21 September 2026

Eleven months ago, I received a surprise check in the mail in the amount of $1,119.26. I wrote a blog post about it, encouraging readers to open their mail and they might have a happy surprise. Today, I opened an envelope from my health insurance company and it happened again! Today’s government-required rebate check was in the amount of $596.52. So I decided to rerun the post from last October as a timely reminder.

Over the years, I’ve encountered many clients who don’t open their postal mail. Some take it to extreme levels. I get it. Mail can be scary. I remember back when I was dealing with credit-card debt I would be afraid to open the mail and see my statements.

But I’ve learned that the truth is the truth whether or not you know about it. And ignoring your mail never helps.

Moreover, when you open your mail, you may find happy surprises. This happened to me recently when I received a letter from my health insurance company. (I get my health insurance on the marketplace.) I fully expected it to be a notice of a rate increase for 2026. But I cringed and went ahead and opened it.

It was a check in the amount of $1,119.26! I was incredulous so read everything in the accompanying letter. Come to find out, by law there is an audit every three years of companies who offer health insurance through the marketplace. If a company doesn’t spend at least 80 percent of its proceeds from premiums on health care, its members are due a rebate. (I’m paraphrasing from memory and probably grossly oversimplifying.) I’d never heard of this rebate, so wasn’t expecting it. And if I hadn’t opened my mail, I wouldn’t have known about it!

Three weeks later, I received an email from my health insurance company telling me I should have received a rebate, so I eventually would have opened the envelope if I hadn’t thrown it away.

Just like clearing off your desk, putting away your clothes or emptying your email inbox (and lots of other things), opening your mail is easier if you do it every day before it becomes overwhelming. And who knows? Maybe your effort will be rewarded by a surprise check in the mail! (Or something equally nice.)

Photo by Wolfgang Vrede on Unsplash.