Spring Organizing

bigstock-Spring-Flowers-14089355

Spring: It's a time of renewal, a fresh start. Grass and flowers begin to grow and bloom. Birds that fly south in the fall begin to return. It's all about the future. We don't deal with the extreme cleaning our ancestors did, however we are still programmed to do something significant when spring … [Read more...]

Simplifying vs. Downsizing

bigstock-Mottoes-On-Pebbles-2159937

Is there a difference between simplifying and downsizing? Not really. Using the word “simplify” is a gentler way to identify the real action of downsizing. If we want to move a quantity of belongings out of our space, we can either downsize them or simplify the space. Whichever term you … [Read more...]

Earth Day 2013

bigstock-Earth-Day-Globe-Graphic-Over-W-2713456

We’ve just celebrated Earth Day again, and I wonder how much attention we pay to this, in the real sense. Sure, there were events and presentations, photo ops and speeches, but what really results from those? A couple of years ago, I learned about the Story of Stuff, of how our material goods … [Read more...]

Benefits of Downsizing

happy smiley between sad ones

I’m sure there’s a part of all of us that never wants to have to downsize. It conjures up all kinds of anxiety—the work involved, what to do with everything, whether we can physically deal with all that must be done, or who will help deal with all of this. Or we may deny the importance of … [Read more...]

When to downsize

bigstock-Question-Mark-5184329

Downsizing can be a sensitive issue for some. It might indicate the end of the road, where we lose all our independence, but it need not be that. There are degrees of downsizing, depending on the situation at hand. It’s not age related at all. Anyone might decide to eliminate some of their … [Read more...]

Can organizing supplies BE the clutter?

blue bin

Many times when I go into clients’ homes, I see they’ve purchased any number of organizing supplies and books. What they’ve actually bought is the dream of being organized, not the reality. This may seem a bit harsh, but stay with me for a bit. Cubbies containing enough shoes to stock a … [Read more...]

The Art of Downsizing

Magnifying Glass - Focus on the future

The concept of downsizing is common these days with Baby Boomers thinking about doing it themselves and for their parents. Younger folks are thinking about it to simplify their lives. And people of all ages coming to the realization that more isn’t necessarily better. Eliminating “stuff” … [Read more...]

Reduce consumption—downsize your spending this Christmas

bigstock-Shopping-cart-empty--isolated-15730205

It’s no secret that we descend from a hunter/gatherer society and many of us haven’t completely evolved from that mindset. This is no stretch when it comes to our accumulation of “stuff”. Every time we go shopping, there are those very attractive impulse buy items near the cash. And what … [Read more...]

Objects we can’t let go

bigstock-Squirrel-4846932

This could be sub-titled Objects in Which We’ve Invested Dreams That Didn’t Happen. All that “stuff” that was going to be something beautiful one day that didn’t make the time or interest cut. What does your “stuff” mean to you? Are you a collector of craft supplies (this is soooo … [Read more...]

Take a Photo and Clear Your Space—Downsizing Tip #2

bigstock-Cartoon-photographer-6564216

Photos give us a quick look at not only the overload of physical goods we have, but also how cluttered our space is. It’s way too easy to ignore / overlook /not notice the “stuff” has been there for a while. Sometimes for a very long while. The same happens in our closets too. We have … [Read more...]