Killing Time?

In my conversations around town a troubling phrase keeps coming up. More than five people in the last week have mentioned that they did one thing or another to "kill" time while they were waiting for something to happen. Killing time? I know that I have said this on a few rare occasions but it seemed odd and a bit alarming that so many people are not using their time to the best of their abilities.

We all have those short stretches of time where we are waiting to move from one mode to another. The question is - How can we use even those teeny, tiny times to our advantage?

Waiting for appointments? Have a folder of things you really want to read, not just what is supplied in the waiting rooms. It is also a time to read/sort mail.

Sitting in traffic? Consider a good book on CD/TAPE/MP3. Check your local library for titles to borrow. Also, check iTunes for their free selections.

Watching TV? What hobby or activity could you pick up to make that time more fruitful? Maybe even a time for exercise(?!)

Whenever your bits of wasted time occur, it is possible to take back your time and use it well. If you don't use your time, it WILL be wasted... and we all know just how valuable time really is!

Wishing... then doing!

I wish that I could say that my house is perfect, that my children are angels and that my life is bliss. Yes, my life is great but it is a REAL life with ups and downs. At this very second I can hear my three year old crying downstairs because she doesn't want to help my husband pick up the messes she has made today. Yes, messes do happen... even in an organizer's home.

My family is about to take a huge step out into the unknown. My husband's job is ending in June and we don't know where we are going yet. My business is growing but it doesn't feed us and house us quite yet. I find myself wishing a lot these days. Wishing for stability, wishing for someone else to pack my moving boxes for me, wishing for it to be a year from now instead of right now. Today it occurred to me. I have to stop wishing and just start doing. "Inch by inch, life is a cinch. right?"

So what am I doing? I am being faithful to the processes that I know and always try to use. Maybe they will be helpful to you too.

Sort and open my mail each day
Do my best to answer and delete email each day
Keep up with the laundry
Make the beds - even when I don't feel like it
Start everyday by looking at the calendar and making sure I have a "flight plan"
Buy only the things that I really need
Avoid food that is neon-colored or clearly not "real" food
Pray or be still at least once each day
Shower, no matter what!
Be thankful about something and/or someone... then let him/her know about it
End the day with a clean(ish) desk
Always have extra batteries... and a secret stash of cookies
Get enough protein (hard since I am a veggie)
Try not to be "grouchy mommy"
Clean out the refrigerator once a week
Still have a date night with my husband
Ask for help (that one is really hard for me)
Love myself more
Listen to others more
Cut out the things that don't really matter to me (or the ones I love)
Drive slower
Listen to music as much as possible
Read something everyday (even if it is only a few moments in the bathroom)
Give my things away to those who really need them
Smile... even when I am by myself
Trust what is to come....
.... Julian of Norwich was right -
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well"

New Year's... and a new year.

I think that resolutions should be made on some random Tuesday in May. It seems like they are more viable than those that are made in the midst of holiday overeating, charged up credit cards and snowed-out exercise plans. Thinking about retooling my life each year stirs up feelings of failure, not dreams of relief.

So what do I do?

I make a promise to be gentle to myself. My natural tendency is the work myself to death. I guess that comes from my Pennsylvania Dutch (German) background. It is actually a true exercise of all my skills to do nothing.

So what does it mean to be gentle to myself?
Finding a pace that keeps me happy, engaged, and moving forward in my life.

Most of what we resolve has to do with "problems" in our pace of living . So why not do what all good doctors do - treat the root issue and NOT simply mask the symptoms.

How will you change your pace this year? What would it mean to be gentle to yourself?
Why not try it today.

Circle of Ladies

I had the delightful opportunity to be in a circle of ladies the other night for a discussion group. I was asked to be there to talk about Spring organizing but I wanted to try something new. They were invited to bring their junk drawers along as an interactive story sharing experience. The talking point - what is in your junk drawer... and tell a story about it.

You never know that will happen when you open the time to free-flow sharing. The chemistry of some groups allow of deep sharing while others... don't...

What an honor it was to be with a group who could share... on many levels. Stories of people, places and events peppered the conversation. The junk made us laugh and even made us sit silently in the presence of tears.

What is in your junk drawer... who/what/when comes to mind...?

Roots

I am thrilled to see green things poking through the ground in my flowerbeds. It signals Spring to me more than the warming temperatures.

I have to tell the truth. I am a VERY impatient gardener. My husband teases that I like to perform "professional installations" instead of enjoying the gradual art of tending to a garden. He has been right in other years - but not this one. This girl is turning over a new leaf.

Have you ever had the sense in your life that things are not completely under your own control? As an organizer I don't really like that feeling. It seems that my family is in a place of great opportunity right now. There are several choices ahead of us that create "unknown" and "wonder" (and even worry, if you ask me!).

What is a girl to do?

Today I purchased an unbelieveable number of seed packets. I intend to plant every single one of those seeds on Friday. Cosmos, sweet peas, lettuce, etc... And I am going to be patient...

I look at it as a spiritual discipline and an act of self-control. If you know me, you know this is a stretch. What better than to put down literal roots when you are working on putting down figurative roots too?

Join me. Turn off your computer and plant something!

Hand-me-downs!?!?!?!

I am a major thrift shop junkie. There should really be a support group from people like me. The thought of finding a treasure in what looks like a pile of junk is better than going to Tiffany and Co. Truly!

What is EVEN BETTER than a thrift shop? Hand-me-downs.
Those big plastic bags from friends and family holding unknown gems are even more thrilling to me.

...BUT BEWARE! Those same bags of hand-me-downs can be a curse too! Accepting these "gifts" from others can get complicated. You don't need to be the central dumping station for anyone simply because you have children of a certain size.

If you chose to accept them - here is what to do. Sort the clothes immediately into three piles - keep, donate and trash. Once you do that place the keepers directly into the laundry, trash the throwaways, and bag up the donation items. Place them on the front passenger seat of the car. If they go in the trunk, they will stay there too long!

Keep in mind that it IS okay to decline hand-me-down offers. You shouldn't feel obligated to add to the (possible) piles of clutter already spilling out in unwanted places. Gently say that you have all that you need this season, thank you!

Where did all this come from?!?!?!

"Where did all this come from?" Those are words I hear in every single home or office I visit. People are amazed at the collection of random stuff that ends up on tables, in closets, under beds, in attics, in the back seats of their cars... need I go on?

This weekend I was knee deep in teenage boy clutter when we came across an empty box that once held a chocolate Easter bunny. (Keep in mind that it is now the end of September!) This happens to most of us on one level or another. What is your "five-month-old Easter bunny box"? What is hanging around just taking up space and causing you to feel a little crazier than you normally would? Go get it now... or get it when you arrive home today. Throw it out, give it away, put it back in the rightful place... and do it now. It will feel powerful. You are powerful. Create the space you want in this world... don't simply live with the one that "happens" to you.