Holiday Organizing blog or Bye-Bye Purple Feathers

Well, I did it. I have organized my daughter's room. Or should I say, hauled out a bunch of old, mismatched toys, games, and puzzles. It seems she has outgrown Dora, Little Pet Shop, and anything having to do with babies. It is amazing at how much room we opened up just by hauling all of this stuff off and tossing anything that was broken. She is so excited. It seems a little odd when your 6 year old is BEGGING you to help her organize her room...must run in the genes.

I am donating all of the "baby" books to the library and then calling the local women's shelter to see if they can use some toys. If not, I'll take them down and donate them at our local drop-off box. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see her dress-up dresses go...seems like I have been vacuuming up small purple feathers for about 3 years now. I assume that even though they are gone, I'll still have at least another 6 months more of the little purple drifters. Now I am tired...Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day Weekend and organizing

It seems I could take this time to discuss the great opportunity you might have to start organizing. I mean, with the extra day off (for most of us) it seems like it might be a great time to get in there and get those problem areas cleaned out. Especially if you are here in the Pacific Northwest where it is raining today. Instead, I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Put your flag out if you have one. If you don't, get one. Really. We should all take a moment to be so incredibly grateful that we live here in the United States. Just consider the alternatives. We may or may not agree with all that is going on in the world but I think we can all agree that we owe our freedom to everyone who has given the ultimate sacrifice. Okay, enough of the soap box. Put the flag out. Really.

For those of you who have read to the end, here is an Ava-ism (my 6 year old daughter's mixture of words and meanings). We went to a cemetery yesterday to help my son's cub scout troop put flags on graves. While we were searching for the marks of a serviceman or woman, Ava noticed crosses on many of the tombstones. She asked if "cheesus" was buried there. We explained, no, cheesus is in heaven with God.

My Way or the Highway Filing

I have read so many different articles and spoken to many clients about the right way to file. One client insists on having all file tabs to the left. Another one says staggered is the only way so you can really see them all at a glance. And yet another one says down the middle is the only way. I took a class that suggested the way to make more room in your file cabinet is to take out all of the hanging folders. Two of my clients must have one hanging folder for each file. Which way is the RIGHT way? They all are. So when I read these articles and books that insist their way is the correct way, I have to stifle a giggle. What IS the right way is the way that works for you. Personally, I like 2 to 4 folders per hanging folder and I like my tab placement divided by the alphabet: A-H to the left; I-P in the middle; and R-Z on the right.

Place your files anyway you like them. But remember, my way is the RIGHT way! :-)

Is going green just a fad?

Boy, I hope not. It seems everywhere I look, there are more and more ways to go green. Just last night I saw a car ad for "drive green." What will happen if gas prices drop? Will sales of Hummers rise again? Will hybrids be a thing of the past? I, for one, certainly hope not. There is a saying that I think of often in my day-to-day activities: You must be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi). I remember when I was about 8 years old and I was riding with my mom in our white Dodge (with lovely navy blue Naugahyde seats) and I asked her why I couldn't just toss my wrapper out the window. After all, it was only one little wrapper. What she told me has stuck with me all of these years: "It may be only one little wrapper, but what if everyone thought the same thing and tossed out all of their little wrappers? We would have litter everywhere." I have used that way of thinking as long as I can remember. Why would I want to recycle just this one little paper? What if everyone started to recycle their one little piece of paper? Wow, what smaller landfills we would have....