While I was reading through all the comments on the Clutter Rehab giveaway post, I noticed an interesting trend.

A lot of us favour the good old notebook and pen (or pencil) as our organising tool of choice.

I love it.

That is all.

No, not quite

I brought home my work notebook and a new notebook this weekend to sort out so that I’m all set for 1 August next week.

Do you know why?

Because even after ALL these years, I still constantly flirt with different organising systems within the notebook and pen system.

It’s not that they don’t work for me; they do. It’s just that I know myself and when something starts being a bit annoying, I’m less likely to use it and then the overwhelm starts.

Which is exactly what happened.

The smaller size blue notebook I had been using, while exceptionally cute, is just not big enough for my daily notes. The lines on the page are also not spacious enough for my medium-size handwriting.

All this to say, don’t beat yourself up about having one system and sticking to it consistently.

I’ve said many times on the blog that part of organising is tweaking.

This weekend, consider your planning tool.

Is it working for you? If not, what needs to change?

And now, onto the winner.

I used random.org…

and the winner is Jacinta who said this:

Jacinta, please email me with your postal address by no later by Tuesday 2nd otherwise I’ll have to choose another winner.

Thanks, everyone, for playing along.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

There’s still time to enter the giveaway for the Clutter Rehab book.

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I personally can’t think of many things that stress people out so much as the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Overwhelm can happen both in work, business or in your personal life.

The absolute best tip ever to start feeling less overwhelmed is to stop and grab a master to-do list or a piece of blank or lined paper.

I included a master to-do list in my Time Management Purpose Pack which you can get for free on my website.

Take 10 minutes and empty your mind my writing down each and every thing on the list.

Just try it – I promise you you’ll not only feel better when you’re done BUT you’ll also then have a realistic picture of what you need to do.

Hint – it’s often a lot less than you think.

If you think in categories as I do, then print one list for each segment of your life – I usually do one for personal, one for work and one for business so that you don’t have to rewrite the items at a later point when you want to work on one area.

This is just a small sample of the steps I take you through in my Break out of Overwhelm audio teleseminar.

It’s my favourite product of all time (yes, really) because I personally use it a couple of times a year when my life gets too hectic and I start feeling overwhelmed.

Here’s what one person had to say… 

The Break Out of Overwhelm seminar was terrific and really hit home with me!  I got sooo much out of it.

I learned a few very important things.  First of all, I hate to eat my frogs and yet they are so very important. Secondly, I have to say no and third,  I realized just how overwhelmed I really am. My health is at stake and sometimes I feel like I am in a total shutdown.

The analogy  you used to illustrate the overwhelm in our lives was great.  I now know how to apply “emergency first aid”!!!!  I also love knowing how to use my Organizing Personality to reduce my overwhelm.

The important thing here I believe, is that  I recognize the problem, I am facing the problem,  I just have to sort the alternatives I have.

So, as a result of the teleseminar, I have recognized my overwhelm,  set my goals, and already, after one day, I ate my frog.  I really got a lot out of this!!  You did a great job!

Mary Perlongo

New York

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One more thing before I go…

If you haven’t booked your place for the Inspired workshop yet, do so now. Bookings close in 8 days.

On a scale of 1 – 10, I was feeling like a 10 about 10 days ago. Once I made my lists (I think I had a combined total of about 65 items), I felt TONS better.

Today I’m a 2 because I’ve had a really good couple of productive days.

Where are you on the overwhelmed scale?

I read a post some time ago about a lady who had just returned from her holidays.

She said that’s the first thing she does – download pics from her camera and do a holiday (vacation) post on her blog.

Which got me thinking – what are the things that I do first when I’ve been travelling?

My to-do list goes like this:

1. laundry (I pack a separate bag for dirty laundry so I can toss that in the machine immediately)
2. unpack kitchen stuff and make tea
3. proper unpacking of clothes, etc.
4. kids fed and in bed
5. download and process emails
6. blog
7. photos about 3 months later

What are the things you do first when you get back home after a holiday?

P.S. The giveaway is still open for the Clutter Rehab book.

There are some things that, for me, make a party.

One of those things is decor. The other are the party packs but that’s another post.

I’ve been slightly addicted to party blogs for the last 2 – 3 months – I’ve found there are literally hundreds all over the internet.

Some are better than others of course and these are the ones that found themselves permanently lodged in my Google Reader.

I found that a lot of graphic designers who sell things on etsy have beautiful blogs that feature a free printable or two so you get a taste of their style.

Rather like my free Time Management Purpose Pack (BTW, have you downloaded yours yet? What do you think? Have you used it?)

Anyway, so after trawling these blogs for awhile, I decided that we needed to buy a set of printables from someone to “pull” the theme together.

I happened upon Linnette’s Paper Glitter blog and I was hooked. I just love her style.

Here is her etsy shop.

We had the challenge of thinking up a gender neutral theme because of our boy/ girl twins.

One that was non character-based as our kids don’t watch TV and I have issues with being “enslaved” to the marketing around Disney and other characters.

So we decided on a garden theme with ladybugs, worms, caterpillars and other bugs. I like to choose something I can easily add to in terms of current things in my house as I am not one for buying things for one purpose only. I had lots of yellow and green things I could use to supplement.

When I received the PDF files, I was truly amazed.

This lady totally OVER delivers.

68 pages of printable PDF goodness.

Truly, I honestly only used about 20 pages and even those 20 pages were well worth the price we paid because they pulled the whole party together.

The pages I used:

1. 3 different types of banners/ bunting – I am a banner-loving freak (seriously – instant happiness!)
2. “Happy Birthday” banner
3. cupcake toppers
4. tented cards
5. food labels
6. invites
7. thank-you cards
8. goodie bag designs
9. water bottle wrappers (I used to decorate old jam jars for tea and coffee)
10. A4 sign with “Happy Birthday” on it
11. 4 inch circles which I made flowers by attaching craft sticks (ice-cream sticks)

I hope you’re interested in all the detail!

All I then did was get a cheap red table cloth (from Pep for R30), bright green paper plates, yellow and red plastic glasses and green straws.

So let me end off this post by saying there is no reason to not have a cute party anymore with all these wonderful things out there.

Go to http://etsy.com and type in party printables plus your theme if you have one in mind, and shop shop shop.

Have you used downloadable printables from etsy before?
How do you decide on decor?

P.S. top pic from the designer’s etsy shop; the rest were taken by me of our actual party

I thought it might be a good idea to include some of your stories in my book.

So…

If you’ve been inspired by one of my posts and you’ve made changes in your own home/ life as a result, I want to hear from you.

For example

Maybe you read my post on sentimental organising four YEARS ago and you’ve since gotten rid of the old t-shirts from your university days…

or maybe you were inspired by how I organise with cereal boxes…

I want to hear from you!

Please send me your submission and I’ll be in touch.

marcia @ organisingqueen . com

This giveaway is now closed! Winner will be announced later today.

It’s an honour for me to feature my friend, Laura’s book on my blog.

We actually go way back – we both started our blogs in 2006 but of course, hers is a TRILLION times more popular than mine – and we both hear baskets calling out to us

Actually, when she blogged about how the baskets call her name, that’s when I knew we were kindred spirits!

Of course I’m talking about the Organizing Junkie, Laura Wittman, and her book, Clutter Rehab.

I finished this book in just *two days because of the following:

1. it is small (only 128 pages so you won’t get overwhelmed)
2. it was so easy to read because this is a real person using her own tips, not just theorising about organising
3. it has big, bright numbers to the tips and is a visually appealing book with great pictures
4. those 101 tips are really simple and doable – anybody can use them

* Confession – I could have finished it the same day but unfortunately, I had to get up and go to work

Laura and I have very similar viewpoints, like you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get organised and it’s not about having a perfect home, but a comfortable home for you and your family.

So…. I have good news.

I’m giving away a copy of Clutter Rehab on my blog.

They will post it to wherever you are so this giveaway is open to EVERYONE, anywhere in the world.

There are three ways to enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me either your favourite organising “tool” (mine is the common spiral-bound notebook and pen) or your biggest organising question.
2. Tweet this giveaway (and come back to tell me you tweeted)
3. Share this giveaway on Facebook (and come back to tell me you did it)

The giveaway will be open for ONE WEEK until Thursday 28th 12 pm EST (6 pm South African time). I’ll choose a winner through random.org, announce it on the blog and you have one week to send me your email address, so make sure you’re reading.

And…. go comment!

PS I’ll be giving my own copy away at my Inspired workshop in Johannesburg next month. I know someone else would love it and my copy is as new (I’m a book freak).

Do you live in Gauteng?

Do you need some time out?

Bookings are now open for the live workshop I’ll be holding on Saturday morning, 13 August.

Click here to find out the full scoop and see how you can join me.

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I had so very many questions in the recent survey from readers wanting to know how I manage to do it all.

I’m not sure if I should be flattered that you think I do it all because I really don’t.

Yes, I probably do a lot because I’ve always had quite a bit of energy but there’s much more I don’t do.

Let me explain:

1. I’m very clear on my life purpose

I have a life mission typed out (not pretty or cute, just typed out) and I know my definition of success in life.

I also know my values. A quick secret – one of those values is not to have the laundry perfectly done (far from it), but it is to take consistent action.

Are you clear on your life purpose?

2. I’m best friends with “good enough”

For me, it’s better to have something done than have it perfect.

If you’re cringing at that sentence, let me tell you that I used to be you. Until I got coached on the fact that trying to get the last 20% of any project perfect usually takes more time than it took to do the previous 80%.

E.g. if I think of something that’s completely out of my comfort zone, making a picture collage in Picasa, it literally takes a few minutes to select some pics and group them in a collage. The playing with it to get the best configuration with the best background and font, etc, etc takes about 3 – 5 times longer than just the collage.

Of course, there is a time and place for prettying something up – maybe for your children’s birthday party *ahem* but for general sending out of occasional pics to family, it’s not necessary to be perfect. Good enough is more than fine.

Do you know when 80% is enough, or are you still stuck on perfect?

3. I have a To Not Do list

We all know there are 24 hours in a day and there is not enough time to do everything.

So it is key to know which things to leave on the To Not Do list.

In my business, I do only things that need my “essence” (for lack of a better word) and delegate the rest.

My virtual assistant, Patricia, uploads my articles to the directories and does everything on my to Not do list.

In my personal life, it’s important for me to cook from scratch (I like knowing what the “babies” eat) but I don’t peel and chop the veggies myself, the nanny and Pick & Pay help with that.

Can you see the difference?

4. I decide where I want to use my time and I don’t feel guilty about the other areas

Be intentional about your time usage. I watch (it’s on in the background) about 20 minutes of TV Mon – Fri as I change from work clothes, pack gym clothes and work bag, etc.

That’s it.

If you spend more time watching TV because it’s your relaxation, have at it. Don’t feel guilty.

I’ve chosen to do otherwise. Neither is right or wrong.

I do spend about 3 – 3.5 hours on the computer in the evenings, working on the business and connecting with friends through email/ Facebook.

I don’t feel guilty about that time because I know why I’m doing it.

Of course I procrastinate sometimes by surfing blogs too much but since I generally get things done, occasionally if I slip up, I don’t beat myself up about it.

How about you?

Where do you want to be spending your time and why? Are you intentional about it?

5. I take consistent action

Unfortunately getting things done is not going to just happen so you’ve got to take action all the time.

Whether it’s doing just one big forward leap or lots of little leaps, I try to take some action every day.

I’m fairly good at constantly reviewing where I am in relation to my goals – I don’t know if it’s because that’s just who I am or because I coach.

Confession – when I feel like I’m getting stuck (which happens about two – three times a year), I get specific coaching to help get me unstuck. There is nothing worse for me than that feeling of not moving forward.

I’ve been working with a new coach and one of my key goals for the next 3 months is to start and finish my book. So far so good.

Do you take enough regular action? Do you have a plan when you get stuck?

To end off, let me leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.

-Lin Yutang

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already the last week of Simplify your Life, and sorry for missing my last couple posts. I had a very big event at work (which went great, BTW) and it was just too much to deal with to add guest blogging on top of it!

Okay, onto this week’s topic: clutter.

For those of you who saw my home tour post on my blog here, you might already know that my house isn’t very cluttered. I don’t have big piles of stuff everywhere, it’s more insidious and virtual than that. I’m definitely a digital packrat (lots of digiscrapping stuff… like 80 Go… no kidding) but I’ve been pretty good at fighting my hoarding tendencies for physical stuff.

Truth is, I can thank my laziness: it’s much easier to keep a house clean and liveable if you don’t have too much stuff. Marcia noted it too in this week’s lesson: “You can reduce your cleaning time by 32% through regular decluttering”. Yay for being lazy when it has good side effects! LOL

I still have some zones I need to declutter and (unfortunately) decluttering is a neverending task, just like laundry: once you’ve done a complete tour of your home you should start again.

As my bathroom is very, very tiny, this is one room that needs the least decluttering. On the other side, our ex-home office/future kid’s room is our messy room right now (we even call it “the dungeon”) and it’ll be tough work!! But for a good cause!

This week’s lesson focuses on clutter, not only the physical or the digital one, but also the mental one. And that’s a big deal for me. Most of the things I tolerate can fit in one of those categories:

• could’s (I COULD need this information someday => brain space used)
• should’s (I SHOULD do this or that, I SHOULD be that way => guilt)
• or would’s (I WOULD like to do something, like losing weight… or I think so! =>guilt and brain space used!)

Could’s, should’s and would’s are definitely a big warning sign that something is wrong and that clutter is being created. Actually, they work for physical clutter as well.

Today is Mandela Day.

From the official website, here’s what it’s all about:

What is Mandela Day?

Mandela Day is a call to action for individuals – for people everywhere – to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mr Mandela did for more than 67 years. Start by devoting 67 minutes to community service on Mandela Day, on July 18 each year, and then make every day your Mandela Day by doing some good for others.

So today works out well for me as I am doing a free mini-workshop called No more paper piles right here in Johannesburg.

Where: Christian Family Church, Cnr Atlas Road and Silverwings Boulevard
(we’ll meet in the food court)

Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm sharp

What to bring: a pile of your paper (yes, really!), R20 for the notes and a friend

Will I see you there?

If you’re not in Jhb or can’t come tonight, you can pick up a copy of No more paper piles at a greatly discounted 67% off

Here’s the link

I can safely say I’ve never ever discounted anything by this much before. (South Africans, less than R100!)

This is an audio copy of a live teleseminar I did last year PLUS the handout that goes along with the audio.

BUT I’m only discounting it for 24 hours.

That’s it – take action or miss out.

What’s that saying? You snooze, you lose

What are you doing for Mandela Day?

A few weeks ago I found myself going to bed at 12 – 12:30 every night. Or morning, as the case may be.

I couldn’t understand why, as life was quite normal, or so I thought.

Usually when I feel like things are getting away from me time-wise, I stop and take stock.

I have a couple of tricks – the same tricks I use with my clients – and this time I outlined a typical day in my life. In Excel

Do you know what I found?

Some days originally ended up having total of 24 hours (I think 2 of them) and the other days had 25, 26 and 2 days had 28 hour days.

I was trying to do way too much in a day.

It started because when I first went back to work after my maternityh leave, I was working a slightly shorter day.

As the children grew, my work day lengthened and I’ve been working a standard 8-hour day for nearly a year now but still trying to cram everything in. An extra 2 hours of everything.

Well, I worked that Excel spreadsheet and beat it into shape til all the days balanced nicely on 24.

I made sure I kept all my sleep time, all my reading time (these are the small and oh-so-necessary pleasures in my life) and I got even smarter with my business time.

For instance, I’ve always coached on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and Saturday mornings, if I’m working with Australians or New Zealanders).

Monday is my writing day – blogs, newsletter, etc.

Wednesday is project day, whatever the current project happens to be in my business.

Seeing the evidence that I’m trying to do too much was a bit of a wake-up call for me and I’ve had to force myself to slow down a bit and lower my expectations of myself.

I’m not Superwoman and I can’t work a full day, come home and play with the babies, put them to bed, cook a meal from scratch, eat with Dion, do my business, blog, go to gym, etc, etc. every single day.

Some days I can go to gym but those are not the days I can cook from scratch.

It’s been freeing seeing the situation in black and white.

How about you though?

Are you also trying to be Superwoman?

Have you written down everything you try to do in a day and see how much time it all takes?

Let me know in the comments.

P.S. Thanks for all your great suggestions for the 40th gift. I think we’re going to go with an experience type of gift. I’ll have to do final investigation but I feel we’re on the right track. Now if it were me, I’d like a zipline experience in the Magaliesberg…