Clutter Free Giving

It's the time of year when we look for ideas for gifts to give and to (subtly) request. My clients and those attending my seminars and workshops know that I am passionate about reducing unnecessary "stuff" in our spaces and lives. What I've come up with is the concept I call "giving consumables". These are items that are used and enjoyed quickly without taking up permanent residence in our residence! Most of us have too many things and not enough time and serenity, so here are some ways to show we care without adding to the clutter.

This is my answer to the “oh no - another gadget/ knick-knack/ pair of socks/ dust collector” dilemma. The concepts can be valuable for a lot of people on your list, so use your imagination and customize them for your holiday gift giving and receiving for 2010!

Give Pampering

Give a gift certificate to a spa for a day of relaxation, some yoga classes, a massage, or a manicure and pedicure to someone who could really use a little bliss more than another kitchen appliance. They will think about you and smile during the entire serene process!

Give Treats

Make or purchase very special treats that people often deny themselves. Be sensitive to dietary restrictions, but gourmet foods, rich chocolates, or elegant wines or champagne are great choices that won’t permanently fill a cabinet. Luxury personal care items make lovely gifts if you know what they enjoy and use. Save space, your budget, and the planet by minimizing wrapping.

Give Fun

Tickets or season passes to the symphony, local playhouses, sporting events, or a favorite movie theatre show you know what they love, and they won’t end up stacked in the garage! Or how about tuition for a class? Maybe they always wanted to learn to salsa, speak Italian, or make jewelry - and you will long be remembered for making it happen.

Give Time

Hire a service to help out the stressed out. Engage a cleaning or lawn service for a one-time or ongoing project, or purchase child or senior care services to give a respite to those with too many responsibilities. Get a mobile car care service to detail a vehicle at their home or office, or (my personal favorite) hire a professional organizer to help them re-claim their space and inner peace! Go to http://creativeconvenience.biz/ or call 501-620-0546 to request gift certificates.

Give Life

Supporting charities is a simple, significant way to share holiday spirit. For example, give meaningfully in the name of someone who already has much by purchasing an animal from Little Rock based Heifer International. These sustainable gifts provide training and self-reliance to those in need around the planet. Go to www.heifer.org to choose your special live gift.

Short Takes

My posting is way overdue, but I've gathered a few thoughts about organizing. Sometimes just a snippet inspires me, so maybe you'll find something of value here.

Time

“Time management is a misnomer. The challenge is to manage ourselves.” Stephen Covey

Eben Pagan – author and marketing coach - expands upon guru Stephen Covey's quote. He says "manage YOURSELF better rather than manage your TIME better as this changes the paradigm and your thought process." Time cannot be gained, expanded, bought, banked, shrunk, or out run, but our use of it IS within our control to some degree. Don't blame a loss of time but rather look at your priorities and how you use the time you have.

Anyone who has attended one of my classes or workshops knows how I feel about multi-tasking. Once the prime attribute sought by hiring managers, it has recently been proven that the scattering effects are counter productive to any but the most rote work. Our minds are built to focus on one thing at a time, but we lose this ability by years of multi tasking and allowing ourselves to be distracted constantly. We should make it a RITUAL to focus on a single thing for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour until it becomes a habit and re-trains our brain for success. Create large blocks of time with no interruptions (calls, emails, texts) to focus on the important aspects of your job or any project.

The Pleasures of an Empty Fridge

My house was without power for 4 days after the first hurricane hit Central Arkansas - Gustav, not Ike. And isn't it weird to have to name the hurricane that caused this damage ... in Central Arkansas?!? Anyway, I was out of town for the first 3 days and when I got home I faced my warm and smushy refrigerator/freezer. Everything was lost - 3 years worth of over-buying and saving unspoiled (probably) food until both compartments were packed full.

It was a painful process for a frugal organizer - mentally counting out "$2.99, $4.00, $6.50 for the gourmet organic cheese" and so on as my losses piled into the Hefty bags. Before the power came back I scrubbed the whole thing down (very hard to do when it's icy) and waited till Entergy convinced me it was safe to go back into the grocery stores again.

Now here's the interesting part - it felt really good to start with a completely clean slate. I just bought a few things as I needed them, and I actually use them because I KNOW I'll like the item (no exotic experimentation when you have to buy everything new), plus there is no freezer burn or other bacterial possibilities affecting the contents.

I'm going to fill some cartons with water to put into the freezer, because I read that it cools much more efficiently when the volume is solid rather than air. But otherwise, I plan to keep it mostly empty - buying no more than the few necessities plus whatever I plan to fix that week. It looks nice and clean and spacious now.

This all connects back to the process of organizing too (in case you were wondering where this might be going), and the rule that you must remove everything from the targeted space first. Starting from nothing gives you both the proper perspective of what will fit, and proves that empty (or negative as the designers say) space feels good and even kinda luxurious.

I don't want to go through this process again - please please Mr. Entergy - but it was a good learning experience. I'm going to go waste a few kilowats now and gaze into my lovely fridge....

Updates from Clients

Quite a few of my clients and students have successfully tried out my Action Filing System and several have shared it with their friends and family. One little blue file box even showed up in a photo contest on someone's desk! If you have trouble keeping up with current action items or pilage on your desk go to the "Conquer the Paper Piles" story below in this blog to see if this tool and process might help.

Another idea for minimizing distractions at work was published in last month's Organizing News e-newsletter. (Subscribe on my website Creative Convenience.) It suggested that you institute a rule that anyone (primarily family) calling you at work must have at least 3 items to discuss with you unless it's an emergency. One dear client and her children came up with a sign posted by their home phone "Don't Call Me if You Ain't Got 3"! She says her kids laugh and mostly follow the new edict freeing her up some at work.