Peace of Mind Organizing

The joy of packing light

29 May 2025

I travel probably six to ten times a year and it’s been more than a decade since I’ve used a suitcase larger than a carry-on. But I always check that carry-on because I haven’t felt tall or strong enough to lift my suitcase into the overhead bin.

Southwest was my airline of choice: it didn’t charge to check a bag and I loved its open-seating policy. But, as you may know, that ended yesterday. I’m not keen on paying to check a bag, so I’m going to be carrying mine on.

I had set a goal with my trainer of being able to easily hoist my bag into the overhead bin, but I decided to take a shortcut to sidestep the issue. I bought an even smaller suitcase, the Bagsmart Under-Seat Carry-On. I paid only about $65 for it and I’ve been very pleased with it.

I’ve taken three trips since buying the bag in March. One involved airplane and train. One was a round-trip Southwest flight and I recently flew to Charlottesville on a pair of Delta flights that were on smaller planes.

This little suitcase was a champ! On the three Southwest flights I took, I was able to place both the suitcase and my purse under the seat in front of me. (I had to sit in a window seat, though; the space under the aisle seat is smaller.) On the Delta flights the bag wouldn’t fit under the seat, but the overhead compartments were so small that all normal-sized carry-on bags had to be gate checked. And the bins were low enough in this small plane (and my suitcase light enough) that I had no difficulty putting my suitcase in the overhead compartment.

I was able to breeze past people who were waiting for their gate-checked bags in the jet bridge. In addition, it was so nice to not have to take time to check my bag (on either end of a flight). I’m a carry-on convert!

The latter two of my trips were four days and three nights. I had plenty of room in my 18” × 13.5” × 8” suitcase for what I packed, which was two dresses, a pair of shoes and a pair of slippers, pajamas and, of course, toiletries. I also took a charging station for my devices and a few extra cords. I packed my laptop, Bullet Journal and pens, in the outer pockets of this little workhorse of a suitcase. (I brought an iPad rather than my laptop on my most recent trip which made my suitcase even lighter.)

The key to my ability to pack light was wearing a lot of layers on travel days, including a warm cardigan that I could pair with any of the items in my suitcase. I’m always cold on a plane, so many layers works well for me. I wear merino wool exclusively and don’t require much variety. (I once wore the same dress for 100 days in a row.)

I find that making the decisions about what to each day before I go on a trip is easier than having a large selection from which to choose while I’m on a trip. I know not everyone is wired like me, but the benefits to traveling light make it worth a try!

Worth repeating (once again): Self-care

19 May 2025

I’m passionate about asking people to be kind to themselves and not let guilt and worry about clutter (or anything else) get in the way of living their lives. Seventeen years ago, I wrote this post, called Self-Care. Thousands of posts later, it remains one of my very favorite posts. I thought I’d share it again today.

I’m always struck how clutter gets in the way of life. I have many clients who constantly feel an obligation to deal with their clutter. They plan to devote a weekend to decluttering, then they start to feel overwhelmed, so they don’t actually deal with it. (Until they call me.)

So for weeks, months, even years, they decline invitations to do fun stuff on their off hours because they should stay home and “get organized.” They don’t treat themselves to a movie, a vacation, or a bike ride because they feel an obligation to stay home and tackle what’s become for them a giant burden.

It breaks my heart.

I’m a big believer in self-care. Maybe because I don’t have kids and therefore have more free time than many women, I have no qualms about taking time away from the “shoulds” and enjoying myself. It happens that I’m easy to amuse—I’m thrilled to sit in front of a DVD of a favorite TV series and knit. That’s my idea of a great time. And I consider that self-care.

Last Sunday I spent the afternoon with some great women, chatting, laughing and doing crafts. Does my bathroom closet need sorting and purging? Oh yeah. It’ll get done some day. But I don’t let it get in the way of the very important hours in the day where I relax and enjoy myself. Getting together with my “craft sisters” nurtures me. And that’s really important.

If you’re reading organizing blogs because you’re feeling disorganized or frustrated by clutter, please don’t let it take over your life. If necessary, seek help (you can find a great organizer via NAPO’s website), and set aside time to work on your organizing project. The key is to actually do the work, rather than intending to do the work and being paralyzed in the process.

And then, please, find time to take care of yourself, rejuvenate your spirits and do something fun. Your idea of fun might be climb a mountain, like my amazing friend Shannon Wilkinson or it might be to take a bubble bath. Maybe you can make a list of things you’d love to do if you only finished getting organized. Then use the items on your list for rewards for the progress you make.

Don’t let clutter get in the way of life. Chip away at it, 15 minutes at a time. Then focus on some self-care. You’re worth it!

Living spendfully

12 May 2025

In 2023, I became a YNAB Certified Coach. I help my clients create and maintain spending plans with the YNAB app. Originally, YNAB stood for You Need A Budget, but they’ve stopped using the B word (Budget) so it’s just YNAB now.

YNAB has coined the term spendfulness, which they define as “the state of making intentional financial decisions with clarity and confidence, free from second guessing.” When you’re living spendfully, your spending is aligned with your values and priorities.

And when you’re living spendfully, life is good.

What does that look like for me? Thanks to YNAB:

• I know exactly how I’m spending my money
• I have no credit card debt
• I give every dollar a job so I am constantly in touch with my financial priorities
• I don’t second guess my spending, which means I don’t feel guilt around my spending

We made the big decision to sell our house and rent a luxury apartment last year, which is completely in alignment with our priorities. That’s going against the grain for most people, but for us it’s absolutely right. YNAB helped us realize that this dream could be a reality.

For me, living spendfully is a way of life. I’ve been using YNAB for my business since 2018 and for our personal finances since 2021. I look at both my personal and business spending plans every single day and I’m disappointed if there aren’t transactions to categorize or dollars to assign. It’s a weirdly fun and rewarding activity for me.

If you’re not familiar with YNAB, I urge you to check it out. (That’s an affiliate link. If you click on it and start a free trial and then subscribe, we both get a free month added to our subscriptions.) It can take a little while to understand how to use YNAB because it’s unlike other budgeting apps and it requires a bit of a mindset shift.

The good news is that YNAB has all sorts of help available: written guides, long and short videos, free workshops and podcasts. There’s also lots of peer help available on social media, like the YNAB Fans Facebook Group and the YNAB subreddit. And there are really helpful YouTube channels. Nick True’s Mapped Out Money YouTube channel is very popular.

If you have the means, you can hire a YNAB Certified Coach. You can learn about my YNAB coaching services at Peace of Mind Spending. Or you can search the YNAB Certified Coach Directory to find one who resonates with you.

My wish for you is that you can become spendful. It can create such peace of mind!

Reminding myself of the value of yoga

30 April 2025

If you’ve been reading this blog for a few years you know I had an amazing streak of daily yoga. Especially during the pandemic, I was able to do yoga every single day and did it daily for over a year.

But my yoga practice has become spotty. Since we moved to an apartment last summer, my challenge has been space. I can’t leave a yoga mat out so I have to roll it out onto my office floor every day and roll it back up again. In fact, I have to unroll and roll up two yoga mats, because my original one isn’t thick enough for our non-carpeted floors. That’s proven to be an impediment and I’ve discovered the key there is to roll out my mat before going to bed. If I do that, I have to step over my yoga mat to get to my desk, which prompts me to just do yoga. I’ve learned through experience that the best time of day for me to do yoga is first thing in the morning. And by first thing, I mean right after I brush my teeth and before I go into the kitchen.

I’m sad that I’m not doing yoga every day, because I know my stiff body would benefit from it. I am working with a trainer these days so I am getting exercise, thank goodness. But the mellow, bendy goodness of yoga is missing.

So today, to remind myself (and perhaps you) of the value of daily yoga, I am re-running this post from August 2020 when I had hit the five-month mark. I hope it inspires all of us!

Today is special for me because it marks five months of doing at-home yoga every day with Yoga with Adriene. That’s 153 days in a row of yoga. It’s gone from something I felt like I should do (even when I didn’t really feel like it) to something I want to do. There’s no longer a question of whether I’ll do it. The question is just which yoga video I’ll do. I almost always do it in the morning, before walking Bix. It’s a lovely way to start the day.

In June, after two months of daily yoga, I wrote a post about why I love Yoga with Adriene. I just re-read it and I don’t think I can improve upon the reasons I enumerated, so here they are again:

Nine things I love about Yoga with Adriene

• I’m getting stronger and more flexible. I’m 57 years old. I am absolutely thrilled to be getting stronger and more flexible, not the other way around.
• It’s good for my body and my mind. Stilling my mind, breathing deeply and moving my body are absolutely what I need right now.
• It’s gentle. Adriene is such a kind and gentle communicator. Her workouts are full of love and body acceptance. She suggests modifications for every pose and normalizes the idea that you might be not able to do all the stretchy bendy things she can do.
• Adriene is funny. She’s a yoga goddess with a beautiful body but Adriene is self-deprecating and makes funny comments all the time. (Today she bowed her head, then commented, “I see toothpaste on my shirt. Class act.”)
• There are many options, but I don’t have to make a choice. I’m easily overwhelmed by options. Adriene offers 30-day yoga journeys every January where you just do the workout designated for that day. (You can start any time.) No choice necessary. She also offers a themed calendar every month, so you can do the workout for that day. (This month the theme is, appropriately enough, Courage.) So far, I’ve done three different 30-day journeys, two of them twice. I’ve done 2020’s Home twice, 2015’s 30 Days of Yoga twice and 2019’s Dedicate once. I love that I don’t necessarily have to choose which of her many videos to do!
• The workouts are varied but there’s continuity. Each workout has some sort of theme—it might be for a certain part of the body (today I did neck and shoulder relief) or it might be to create a certain feeling, like “Soften”. After doing it this long, the yoga poses are familiar but there endless ways to put them together and each workout feels fresh to me.
• It’s free! Adriene does have a paid community, but all the workouts on her YouTube channel are free. And they’re not interrupted by ads.
• I get to do yoga in my pajamas. I know if would be very hard for me to leave the house to do yoga. Now, I just have to take a few steps from my office to my guest room to do yoga in the morning. And most mornings I do it in my pajamas. Talk about letting it be easy!
• Benji. Adriene’s Australian Cattle Dog, Benji, is present in almost all the videos. He’s calm and zen and adorable. Usually he’s extremely well behaved but occasionally he does something funny (like the time he sat on Adriene’s head when she was in child’s pose.) Adriene always acknowledges him and treats him with love.

I had been thinking about doing yoga for literally years. And now it’s part of my life. I think the reason I could get started and stick with it was that I got rid all the barriers—it literally couldn’t be easier for me to do from my home, often in my pjs. (Plus, I was inspired by my awesome niece, Miranda, who won’t start her day without it.)

I’m going to be taking a two-week driving trip soon and I intend to keep up the daily practice. I won’t be doing it out of a sense of obligation to break the chain. I’ll do it because I want to do it to help my body (and my mind) after long days of driving. I am so grateful to have been able to make this part of my life. [ETA: I did do daily yoga on that trip. And it was helpful!]

Is there something you’ve been wanting to incorporate in your life that you’ve had trouble starting? Maybe take a look at the barriers and see if you can set them aside. I’m really glad I did.

The power of neighborly connection

21 April 2025

I send out my monthly newsletter last week and the feature article was about ways to take care of yourself. That day, I received a response via email from my wise friend and retired professional organizer, Margaret Lukens. She wrote:

I would like to nominate one more thing for the next time you address elements a strong self-care regimen: make contact with a neighbor, even if they are a stranger.

She went on to say, “Fear and anxiety tend to breed mistrust, which in turn makes us more fearful, in a vicious cycle. Having contact with those around us, even very casual contact, helps us to stay more positive and optimistic, which better equips us to deal with our all-too-real problems.”

She is so right. I experienced this first-hand when we moved to an apartment building last summer that has about 300 residents. I live on the 35th floor and I have a dog, so I spend a good amount of time in the elevator. Shortly after we moved in, my husband was hospitalized for nine weeks. That could have been an incredibly lonely time for me. But the fact I have an eye-catching standard poodle and I’m an extrovert (it turns out I love connecting with people in the elevator!) meant that I made lots of new acquaintances quickly. And that became a lifeline for me.

Our building also has twice-monthly community events and I love having the opportunity to meet new people there. And I’m thrilled that some of the acquaintances I’ve made in the building have become friends. It’s one of the reasons I truly love living here.

Here’s a little more of Margaret’s excellent advice:

So make eye contact and share a few words with a fellow dog-walker or neighborhood shopper. Greet neighbors at the mail box or in your building’s laundry room with, “I hope you’re having a good day!” It’s a genuine sentiment, and it leaves room for those among us who are NOT having a good day to feel a bit buoyed by the well-wishes. And it helps us all to feel that we are surrounded by caring people, which contributes to our own well-being.

I hope you’re having a good day!

13 things you can let go of today

15 April 2025

After years and years of helping people let go of excess, it wasn’t hard for me to come up with a list of items that we frequently see people unnecessarily hanging onto. When we work in basements, especially, we almost always see these items. It’s so easy to let them languish there but letting them go creates space (and peace of mind).

Are any of these items cluttering up your home?

1. Empty boxes for items you’ve had over three months (possible exception: the box your giant TV came in)
2. Packing peanuts and air pillows if you haven’t used any in six months or more
3. Paid bills (non-tax-related) that are more than a year or two old (if that)
4. Supporting paperwork for taxes filed more than seven years ago
5. Clothing that doesn’t fit you or you don’t feel fabulous in
6. Supplies for pets you no longer live with
7. Outgrown games and toys
8. Supplies for hobbies or crafts you no longer do (or never actually did)
9. Expired over-the-counter medications or beauty/personal hygiene products
10. Leftover holiday cards from years gone by—especially dated ones
11. Holiday cards you received from others
12. DVDs or VHS tapes you no longer watch
13. Damaged or wilted holiday decor

Do a quick sweep of your house this week. If you spot any of the above items, consider letting them go!

Here are some ideas for disposing of these items:

• Take the old paperwork to a commercial shredding service (the big-box office supplies stores offer this service as well)
• Donate clothing, toys and craft supplies.
• Give your unneeded pet supplies to a local animal shelter
• Take the unwanted packing material to a UPS Store (or similar establishment) for reuse
• Let it be easy by calling in a junk hauler if you have large quantities of trash and/or donations

Of course, if you’re in St. Louis and would like some help, please shoot me an email and we can set up an organizing team to help you identify what to let go of (and organize what you decide to keep). We’ll even take your donations with us!

I firmly believe that less stuff = more happiness. A good place to start on your path to less stuff is with these no-brainers!

Photo by seeetz on Unsplash.

Budgeting and decluttering: It's all about priorities

12 April 2025

I’ve been helping people declutter excess stuff for 20 years. And for two years, I’ve been helping people take control of their spending with the app YNAB as a YNAB Certified Coach. (Check out my website and blog, Peace of Mind Spending.)

I see a lot of overlap in the work. One thing I’ve noticed is that both decluttering and budgeting are all about priorities.

Before anyone starts decluttering, I encourage them to have a vision for their space and get in touch with why they want to go to the effort to declutter and organize their home. Many people want to entertain, for example. Or just be able to open the door to unexpected visitors. Or they want more ease in their life…being able to get out the door without a mad search for their keys. Knowing what’s important to them helps make it easier to let go of excess.

The same is true of a budgeting: YNAB has coined the term spendfulness.” When you’re living spendfully, you’re spending in alignment with your values and your priorities. If your priority is fun time with your family, for example, it’s perfectly okay to spend money on a Disney vacation, rather than spending it on something else. If you struggle with credit-card debt, knowing that your priority is to get out (and stay out) of debt makes it easier to be more mindful about cutting back on extras until the debt is paid off. (And continue to live spendfully once you’re out of debt.) YNAB helps you see where your money is going and allocate your money according to your priorities.

Not incidentally, in the podcast I co-hosted for five years with Shannon Wilkinson, Getting to Good Enough, we mentioned virtually every week that the key to letting go of perfectionism is to get in touch with what is important to you. It’s a recurring theme in my life.

I’ve been doing this work so long that I feel pretty in touch with my priorities. How about you? Do you know what’s important to you about your home? How about your spending? Do you know where your values and priorities lie when it comes to money?

If you feel you need clarity, spending some time reflecting on your priorities and perhaps discussing them with those who share your life might create a North Star to guide you. It’s a worthwhile exercise!