Goodbye Old Friend

Traveling Companion

Today I said bon voyage hail and farewell to an essential part of my life for almost 20 years.   I worked in the travel industry and got the chance to literally see the world as part of both the job and for fun.   Around the late 1980's a new invention arrived - the suitcase on wheels - which was a big ole deal for those who remember lugging the gigantic American Touristers around.

This one is actually my second version, and it was super special because at that time only airline people had access to the cool TravelPro brand.  My good friend and co-worker Kathy found a way (I did not ask for details) to slip me into the American Airlines company store at DFW to buy my beauty.   This early iteration actually was never perfect - tended to tip forward if not packed just right - but I adored it.  Partly because of its heritage and exclusivity to the glam world of pilots and flight attendants, but mostly because it went with me everywhere.  Seriously - everywhere.

Over the years I had jobs that kept me in the air weekly - one required me to work in Dallas, Austin, and Atlanta EVERY week!   I became an expert packer, plane-sleeper, and could have written a book on the best places to eat, drink, and shop in dozens of airports.  My faithful TravelPro was always there - schlepping my stuff around the country and the world.

OK, so it was battered, many of the zipper pulls had long since disappeared - the victim of various airport conveyor belts, and you can see it no longer stood up too proudly.  I kept using it long past its prime - partly from frugality and the lack of desire to shop for another, but I also convinced myself that it looked worldly and experienced rather than shabby.  I know - rationalization.  The end came unexpectedly this week while preparing for a short road trip.  The pull-up handle locked and broke off.  Not repairable, not donate-able, not recycle-able.  Just a  major piece of my life headed for the landfill.

I left it in my hallway for 2 more days, finally taking a picture (above) and saying goodbye to my old friend who had accompanied me on so many adventures.  We've been hundreds of thousands of miles together, had some fun and saw some stuff, I'll tell ya.

If you ever wondered if the Organizer/Downsizer/De-clutterer suffers from stuff sentiment, here it is.  I'm laying bare my soul, my conflicts, and my limitations.  The memories are in my head and heart and in this little photograph.  It's enough, I guess.

 So, I sniffed farewell and placed it ever so gently into my big trash bin - seemed the least I could do.   Writing about it here seems to help me feel a little better, and I know my next model will be prettier and have the latest technological advances - like not tipping over.  But we'll never see the sights and live the younger life that TravelPro and I shared.   Next chapter.   RIP.

Spring Organizing

A new season has arrived and the term Spring Cleaning is on a lot of minds.  As a Professional Organizer I always advise some Spring De-cluttering first.   Professional cleaning companies state that residential cleaning time can be cut by 40% if the home is mostly clutter free.  Which makes perfect sense - if you don’t have to pick up and move things to clean you save a lot of time and energy. To me that is worth the price of admission right there!

How to begin your Spring De-clutter?  There is a social media project going on this month led by Ann Marie Heasley, a popular home and lifestyle blogger and author of White House Black Shutters.  Called “40 Bags in 40 Days” it is a challenge for members to remove one bag of unneeded and unloved stuff from their homes every day except Sunday for, well, 40 days.   

Ms. Heasley is not too strict, declaring the bag can be any size, but she encourages removing more than one per day too.  She is obviously a fun girl calling the process “decrapifying”. 

Although it’s a “closed group” in facebook-speak, it seems that anyone can apply and be admitted to the group within a few hours, and there are currently over 20,000 members.   The 40 Bag insiders offer photos, support and accountability, and Ms. Heasley provides some helpful info such as a list of places to de-clutter around the house, and a downloadable progress chart.

In addition to the information on her blog I recommend a few really key points for de-cluttering and organizing your home this spring.  These include:

1.       Keep it small – only work on one area at a time when sorting and purging.  Start with one drawer or one shelf, and when that is complete you’ll feel successful and energized and ready to begin another small area.  Bite off too much and you quickly become overwhelmed.  Having 7 small unfinished projects at the end of the day is more depressing than never even starting.

2.      Assign a home for anything that remains.  Designating a place for stuff that is easily accessible and memorable hugely reduces the stress of finding the thing you need when you need it. This also increases the odds that it will be put away when done.

3.      Don’t purchase containers until the purging and assigning are complete.   People find cute or discounted or yard sale containers and try make their stuff fit them.  It’s a typical rookie mistake that usually results in lost time, space, and sometimes money.  Your system comes first – determine how much space you need (and agree to give) a specific item or group.  Then measure the stuff and the space.  Then get the containers.

4.      This is a great time to work on those “behind closed door” areas – closets, pantries, medicine cabinets, and garages  - where most of our important stuff actually resides.  Once you make some room in the storage areas you'll find that clearing your open spaces becomes easier.  Please, please never fill it back up entirely.  Shoot for 85% full because 1) open space looks and feels more luxurious and 2) it hugely eases the put-away process.  Think of the last time you tried to cram more socks into an overstuffed sock drawer.  This is how piles of clean clothes end up on chairs/beds/floors/dryers/etc.

5.      Finally get a friend (or Professional Organizer!) to help or at least be with you as you work.  This makes the process more fun and provides real accountability.  Schedule an appointment with yourself and friend, clear out 1 bag or 40, and congratulate yourself on any wins.  Enjoy your clean serene home this Spring!