Dancing Queen?

No, no, no. I said donating queen! I am the donating queen lately. I can't believe how the change in seasons - and the fact that my child has outgrown everything all at once - (Can you say "growth spurt"?) prompts me to go closet clearing. Knowing that Christmas is not that far off has also led me to start weeding out the toys we've outgrown in order to make room for the new onslaught.

Have the cooler temperatures prompted any pre-holiday nesting of your own?

"Simplify the Season" is in the air. Can you feel it?

~J

Getting back on track. (Fall time is fun time!)

I am using a borrowed computer. (Thank you Paul for sharing!) My laptop has given up on me after just over a year of service. Therefore I do not have Live Writer at this time. This makes me a bit sad, but lookie at the technology I still have! YAY! October is almost over. The temperatures here have been very fall like lately. I am actually in love with playing outside! I have really been choosing fun! It is hard to remember to live abundantly in all I do, but I am really working on that. How about you? Are you living life to the fullest? I finally have an update from here ... The magazine basket was purged to make room for all of the "soon to come" Christmas catalogs. The tree branch has been trimmed and the guys have chopped most of it into firewood. The big trees are still holding strong. The garage has been cleaned out. The yard sale is DONE. The decision to order a shed for the lawn eqipment (a safety measure really) has been made.

This is the time to get out all of your Fall decorations, give them a good dusting and sprinkle them about. I never, hardly ever, give decorating tips, but I will just this once. If there are holiday decorations that you own that you are not using (aka they are remaining stored away in their boxes year after year after year) DONATE THEM NOW. Someone else will still have time to use them this season and it will lighten your load when you go to repack the decorations that you love year after year. Less really is more sometimes.

Stay tuned for the start of "Simplify the Season". I will be bringing back some favorites from last year as well as adding some new goodies. Can you say "Holiday Hub"? I'm giddy! ~J

Letting go.

Welcome to October.  Now it really is more fall-like, isn't it?  We start to realize that the 85 days left until Christmas is going to be all too short!  Do not fear.  "Simplify the Season" is coming soon.  With all this talk of change of seasons, I thought it would be a good time to discuss change in organizing.  (Wow, what a seg-way!)

"Change is not easy, but it is incredibly liberating."(1) Stemming from this idea is that the stuff we surround ourselves with should be stuff that we love, we find useful, is current.  So what happens to the stuff that is out-of-date, obsolete, no longer useful to us, or lovely?  Friend, that is what we call "clutter".  Whether it is your home or office, if the contents are not serving you and your present purpose, they have no business being in your life.  Does that sound harsh?  Maybe a little.  Maybe because it is true.  I am not suggesting we throw out everything we own and start anew.  I am suggesting that we all are capable of filling our lives (and homes) with stuff that really has no purpose other than collecting dust.  I may be talking about your bread machine, that 7th pair of black heels, or the spare 2000 paper clips which are lurking in a desk drawer.  what is it for you, friend?  Is there one area that you know you really need to let go of certain stuff?  Will you commit to take time this week to JUST THINK about what that space in your home will be once you let go of the stuff?  Ok, enough about the change part for now.  Do you want to know abut the liberating part?  That is the part where you find that you don't miss what you've donated and tossed.  The part where you have a room that looks the way you want it to look in your head.  You have peace.  You have room to live, conduct business, share your life, breathe.  That is true liberation.

I have had the candid conversation with many women lately who feel like being a grown-up, trying to have everything under control, and motherhood has zapped their fun.  At what point do we forget about living life abundantly?  When is it that we trade in fun for drudgery?  My challenge to you this week is to have fun.  In all that you do, have fun.  If you haven't heard of living abundantly before, I would love to talk with you more about it.  If you aren't sure what this "having fun" is all about, think about what defines FUN for you.  This is more than a 15 minute challenge to contentment.  Laugh, paint pottery, quilt, sure... fix dinner, do a load of wash, make the beds, pick up the toys.... but in all your daily decisions, choose fun.

 

 

1. It's All Too Much: An easy plan for living a richer life with less stuff; Peter Walsh; copyright 2007; page 52.

~J

Equinox, anyone?

This week we usher in Fall.  It doesn't quite feel fall-ish here in Northeast Florida.  It is a bit cooler, and for that we are thankful.  The humidity will lift soon enough, I'm sure.  Ah Fall.  Autumn.  My favorite time of the year.  (And no, it is not just because many allergens are dying off, although that is a nice blessing, isn't it?!)  I love Fall for:  Pumpkins and dry air.  Children in costumes.  The anticipation of upcoming holidays and all the bustle and celebration they promise.  Warm colors exploding from a natural pallet of reds, oranges, browns, yellows, and left-over-greens. (sigh)  I love autumn. 

With the beginning of Autumn, what's on my to-do list for the near future?  I am so glad you asked.  For the next month or so I plan to spend some time "finishing summer". 

• Making one last warm trip to the beach before the winds turn to cutting iciness.  Maybe we'll finally try out that kite? 
• Sorting out the magazine basket (I love magazines!) to make room for the influx of toy and gift catalogs that arrive starting soon.
• Cleaning out the garage (or storage unit/man cave) so that all of our outdoors toys will be accessible for us to spend the Fall outside! 
• Removing some branches from trees that need a serious trim.  And creating firewood!

Oh, how did you rejuvenate this past week?  I picked up a stack of books at the local library and have been enjoying reading the wisdom of Peter Walsh.  While I don't always agree with Mr. Walsh, I do find him insightful.  He really does look past the "stuff" to the heart of the clutter.

~J

Living well.

I can't believe that it was February the last time we talked about this topic (oh, and here too!).

What are you doing to live well this week?  I feel like I've been running after everyone and every thing else this week.  I think as moms we often get into that groove.  I am reminded tonight to take a breath and to live well for me.  If I am not living well for me - I am not a good servant for Him, I am not the best mom and I can be, nor am I the best wife (or friend, or daughter, or organizer, or me) I can be. 

This week I challenge you to make a list (and not just because lists are so much doggone fun!).  Make a list of things you can do that will make you feel as if you are living well. 

• Is it a visit to a local antique shop? 
• Getting a mani/pedi/facial/massage?
• Reading a book/magazine/article?
• Learning a new song?
• What is it for you that makes you feel like you are living well?
• Will you commit to do it this week?

~J

 

Update Update Update

 

In case it has been awhile since you've checked it out, head on over to www.organizewithjulie.com to see what you've been missing!

~J

Back to school time!

Happy Labor Day!  Thank you for all of you who work the daily grind (even today as many of us were out dining and shopping). 

I realize for much of the country, you have probably already gone back to school.  My husband finished out his first full week  of teaching rather happily.  Thanks to the great sales as of late, school shopping is finally finished for the whole family.  Tomorrow holds the real "back to school" feel in our home; because, you see, tomorrow is the first day of pre-school!

I am not finding it as bitter-sweet as I thought I would.  I am actually glad for this new adventure in our lives.  My three-year-old has been asking to go to school on an almost daily basis for about a month now.  We have watched DVD's about favorite characters (Elmo and Blue) going to school.  It is an exciting time.  All that said, I have put a lot of planning into tomorrow.  The homework assignment "All About Me..." poster is finally complete and in the packed up back pack (lest we forget this very important item!).  The lunch is all packed (except the hot portion).  Everything is Magic Marker labeled.  The clothes are laid out - down to the shoes.  I feel as though I have planned well.

So I ask those of you who are parents, for your first day agendas.  What do you do on that first day with a silent house, you stay at home mom?  What do you do the first day coordinating buses, car-pools, after school schedules?  Working parent, what is your challenge with after school care?

I find myself curious about others' lives at this point.  What are your "back to school" rituals?  I have a dear friend whose husband goes into work late on the first day of school.  He stays home a little longer and cooks a big breakfast for the whole family.  I plan to try to maintain a "life as normal" status quo in the morning so as not to upset the applecart that is my young one.  Yes, Elli, I will TRY TRY TRY to remember to take a picture of him in the morning.  So tell me, what do you do that is different/special for that very first day?  How do you plan?  If you are beyond the point of having school aged children, what did you do for your children when they were small that was special?  What is YOUR best first day of school memory?

For any of you who are interested, there is still space available in the up coming Home Hub Seminar for Monday evening (Sept 15, 5:30-7pm).

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