Peace of Mind Organizing

August tiny projects challenge: Day 1

17 August 2020

This morning I spent 15 minutes on a tiny project that’s been on my list forever: my pajamas. I’m not ashamed to share that I store my pajamas in a laundry basket on the floor next to my side of the bed. Since I am not remotely worried about my pjs wrinkling, tossing them in the basket when I put away laundry (or after taking them off to re-wear) is about as easy as it gets. And if you’ve read my stuff for any length of time, you know I’m all about easy.

Here’s a picture of the basket before I started my little session:

I set my stopwatch, and started emptying the basket garment by garment. Naturally, those I wear most often were at the top of the basket. I folded the pajamas and put them together in sets. I grouped short-sleeve and long-sleeve pajamas in separate piles. I’m a big fan of Soma Cool Nights pajamas (which I always buy on sale) and at the bottom of the basket were some pajamas I’d bought prior to discovering the comfort of Cool Nights. So those went right into the donate pile. I discovered a couple of pair of lounge pants that I don’t sleep in but want to keep storing in the basket.

Once everything was sorted out, here’s how it all looked spread out on the bed:

Then all I had to do was put the stuff back. Since it’s August, my big winter robe went in the bottom of the basket. Next to it went the long-sleeved pajamas. I started piling them in layers, based on frequency of use, with my go-to favorites and my summer robe in the top layer.

Here’s the after photo:

So much better, right? It was a nice, satisfying investment of 15 minutes. I know that very soon (like tomorrow or perhaps the next day, if I’m diligent tomorrow), it will look messy again. And I’m just fine with that. I’m going to try to remember when the weather gets cold to do another sort so that the warm items are on the top. I think this is a great example of function over form. And also an excellent example of good enough!

Stay tuned tomorrow for another tiny project!

Tiny Projects Challenge, take two

13 August 2020

Back in May, I took on a personal tiny projects challenge, in which I completed five small organizing projects around my house in a week. I did one a day and blogged about it the day I did it. In only about an hour, split up over the course of five days, I was able to make some very nice, life-improving changes.

Well, there’s still a pandemic going on and I’m still home the great bulk of my time. And there’s still plenty of room for improvement around here. So I thought I’d myself a favor and start another tiny projects challenge. Each day next week my plan is to accomplish and write about one tiny project a day, complete with before and after photos.

Looking around, I see that I have plenty of tiny projects from which to choose. They include (but are not limited to):

• My office-supply closet
• My computer desktop
• My under-desk file cart (that will surely take longer than 15 minutes)
• The reach-in closet in my office (as distinct from my office-supply closet)
• My monitor stand
• My lettering pens
• Some of my organizing supplies

I encourage you to consider joining me! What tiny projects jump out at you when you look around? We can make a big difference in our homes by isolating just one little area and improving it in less an 30 minutes of effort. Watch out for my first tiny project on Monday!

I'm a Notary Public (and you can be one too)

6 August 2020

On August 4, I took the oath to become a Notary Public. I think it will be handy to help my clients when they need notary services. But that’s not why I did it. I did it to make easier for people to vote by mail-in or absentee ballot. Missouri is one of three states that (at least at the writing of this June 1, 2020 article on NPR’s website) requires a notary to cast a vote through the mail. The other two states are Oklahoma and Mississippi. In some instances, absentee ballots in Missouri do not have to notarized. But all no-excuse mail-in ballots—which are new for the pandemic in 2020—must be notarized.

I am passionate about voters’ rights and I thought becoming a notary would be one way I could be helpful. By law, a Missouri notary may not charge to notarize a ballot or voter registration, but it’s not always easy to find a notary when you want to vote. That’s why I’ll be joining other notaries at ballot-notarizing events before November’s general election. I’m also happy to arrange private notarizing. Of course, masks and social distancing (to the maximum extent possible) will be implemented.

It’s not hard to become a notary in Missouri, but it’s not exactly easy, either. In a nutshell, you have to meet the requirements, read the handbook, take an open-book test, apply and then after you receive your commission number, get a surety bond, take it to the courthouse, take an oath, get a certificate, send the certificate to the company that supplies the notary stamp and register, and order those supplies. (I paid a total of $89 for all of the above.) If you’re interested in becoming a notary, start at this page on the Secretary of State’s website: How to become a Missouri notary.

The order you have to do things in is very specific and, at least to my mind, wasn’t completely clear. But as soon as I finished the process, I wrote it all down. I’m happy to share that document with anyone who’s interested.

If you’re in the St. Louis area and want any help becoming a notary (or getting hooked up with other notaries who are making themselves available to notarize ballots) or if you just need me to notarize your ballot (or anything else), please shoot me an email at janine@peaceofmindorganizing.com. I am excited to be able to be helpful!

Worth repeating: Lessons learned from a painful thumb

3 August 2020

I wrote this blog post almost exactly four years ago. When I read it again this morning, I thought the message was still valuable so I wanted to share it again. I’m happy to report that my thumb continues to be pain-free!

I was diagnosed with trigger finger recently (trigger thumb, actually). Trigger finger happens when the tendon in a finger or thumb becomes inflamed, causing the finger to catch in its sheath. The finger then locks in the bent position and then releases with a snap.

As soon as I noticed severe pain in my thumb and experienced that tell-tale snap after waking up, along with a constant dull pain in the thumb, I made an appointment with a hand doctor. (My husband has had surgery for trigger finger twice, so I was clued in.) The doctor confirmed my self-diagnosis and suggested a steroid shot. I’d heard that the steroid shot was really painful, but I decided to give it a try.

What does this have to do with organizing? It brought to mind two things that I see in clients while decluttering and organizing.

First, the fear of the pain of the shot was worse than the pain itself. And while it was quite painful for about 10 to 12 (long) seconds, it wasn’t by any means unbearable. Once the pain of the shot was gone, the pain of the condition slowly started to fade away.

It got me thinking about the fear some clients feel about hiring an organizer or the prospect of going through the decision-making process of decluttering. It seems scary, but the pain is over pretty quickly. And once you’re past the pain of getting started, you can start getting relief.

After I got my steroid shot I was (unrealistically) expecting instant relief. That wasn’t the case. It took probably a week, but every day there was less pain in my thumb. Then one day there was no pain at all. I could grip items without pain and the constant dull ache was gone. And mornings were much easier, since I woke up pain free.

It probably took me a week to notice the absence of pain. That was a real a-ha moment for me. Once I noticed that my thumb no longer hurt, I was delighted. The shot had worked! I was amazed that it took so long to notice.

Isn’t that true of a lot of things in life, including organizing systems? We notice what isn’t working. We feel the pain and frustration of failing systems or the absence of systems. But when things are going well, we often don’t even notice. We’re missing an opportunity to feel good about ourselves!

I encourage you to think about the things in your life that are working well. Notice the absence of frustration. Think about what you’re doing right and apply those lessons to the frustrating aspects of your life.

Noticing the absence of pain can be difficult. But it can be rewarding!

Photo by Katya Austin on Unsplash

Small changes, big benefits

30 July 2020

Sometimes little purchases or habit changes can make such a big difference. I keep thinking about that because a week ago I bought a Roku voice remote for my Roku streaming video device and it makes me so happy. It was a $20 investment. Every time I use it (which has been every day), I smile.

Previously, I had to use two remotes: One to turn on and off my TV, as well as adjust the volume (and mute), and one to control the Roku. My two most-used streaming apps are Hulu and Netflix. My old remote had buttons that took me directly to Netflix (as well as Amazon Prime and two other services I don’t subscribe to). I loved that Netflix button but wished there was one for Hulu.

I decided to indulge myself and buy the new remote that not only controls the Roku but also turns the tv on and off, controls the volume and mutes the TV. (That’s a photo of it above.) And it has button for Hulu as well as Netflix! I now only have to keep track of one remote rather than two. It’s a tiny thing but it makes such a difference! This new remote is also a voice remote—I can press a button and use my voice ask it to open a channel or search for a show. I’ve barely used that feature, but I know it will come in handy.

Such a little thing. But since it’s something I use every day (particularly during the pandemic), it has a big impact.

It’s also true that small habit changes can pay big dividends. For example, in my life, I am now pulling the few weeds that come up in my front yard (we replaced the lawn with native plants last fall) when I come home from walking Bix every morning. Usually just a few weeds have popped overnight and I pluck them out. So I’m never faced with a big weeding challenge or guilt over unsightly weeds.

Do you have any irritations that can be alleviated by a small habit change or perhaps a small purchase? I encourage you to ask yourself what could make life a little easier and see if that’s something achievable.

Storing my ear buds and charging cables

27 July 2020

Phone cables are vital items, used daily, but they’re such a pain to store, aren’t they? A couple of weeks ago, I revamped how I store my ear buds and phone charging cable at my desk, and I’ve been so happy. I thought I’d share here.

Some background: I have two wired ear buds I keep close at hand. One has a lightning connector to my phone. I usually use my AirPods, but sometimes they’re upstairs when I’m downstairs, so I keep a wired set handy. I also have ear buds with an auxiliary connector, left over from an older phone. I plug them into the aux jack of my podcasting microphone every week when Shannon and I record our podcast, Getting to Good Enough. And I also keep a USB/lightning cable handy for charging my wireless keyboard and mouse. That’s three cords I really want on my desk.

For the longest time, I stored these items in a leather container I bought from Levenger whose purpose is to store such cords and also serve as a phone stand. It never worked as a phone stand, but I did use it for my ear buds and cable.

Here’s a photo of it from a past post—the red arrow is pointing to it.

I used it for years, but it was actually quite annoying. The cords would get tangled within and no matter which one I needed, it was never on top. Here’s a photo of the interior. I bet you can see what I mean.

I finally put my mind to coming up with a better solution. I had just received a new charging cable from LoopyCases and it came in a pouch. That pouch, unfortunately, isn’t large enough to comfortably hold all three cables, but I had another suitable pouch. I decided to put the ear buds in one pouch and the charging cable in the other.

I found two distinctive binder clips to keep the two ear buds tangle free and distinguishable from one another and put them in one of the pouches. Here’s a photo of the clipped sets of ear buds.

I put the ear buds in one pouch and the charging cable in the other. I labeled the pouches using some black tape from IKEA and a white gel pen and put them on the bottom shelf of my monitor riser. Here’s how they look:

(I tried to find a link to the black tape, but IKEA doesn’t seem to sell it any longer. But when I run out, I’ll probably give this Scotch Expressions washi tape a try.)

I’m really happy with this solution. The cords I need are right in front of me. They’re easy to put my hands on. And, best of all, they’re not annoying!

A tiny life-enhancement: Tear-by-hand packaging tape

23 July 2020

I’ve been sending a number of packages these days—knitted gifts and so forth. And I’ve been so grateful for one little product I thought I’d sing its praises here.

It’s Scotch Tear by Hand Packaging Tape. It’s clear shipping tape, just under two inches wide, and you can tear it by hand.

Let that sink in. No grabbing scissors while you’re trying to keep the tape from sticking back on itself. No annoying dispenser whose teeth might scratch you. You roll out the amount you need and tear it with your hands.

Every time I use it, it makes me smile. We all need those things in our lives!