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Reading time – 3 minutes
Where are those 2 special boxes? Planning a move takes time. Moving is stressful. The packing of all the boxes, the day of moving and then the unpacking. It is easy to misplace something you need on moving day or soon after you arrive. Consider having those important things with you in your vehicle.
What are the 2 most important boxes?
When you are moving pack 2 boxes that have everything you need for moving day and the first night. Keep these 2 boxes with you and not in the moving truck. These boxes should include:
- Glasses – plastic or glass for drinks or water.
- A roll of paper towels
- A roll of toilet paper for each bathroom
- A bar of soap or container of liquid soap for the bathroom
- A hand towel in the bathroom
- Dishcloth, dish soap and tea towel for cleaning dishes that may be dusty from moving
- Sheets for the bed and pillows so you can go to sleep at the end of a long day moving in
- Towels for a shower and basic cosmetics to clean up after the move
- A change of clothes as well as medications
- Chargers for your phone, tablet and computer
What supplies are important?
It is handy to pack a pail of basic cleaning supplies so you can do a quick clean before things are unpacked. Bring:
- Cloths
- All-purpose cleaning supplies
- Broom and dustpan
- Mop
- Pack it all in a pail
Pack a toolbox with basic tools. You may have to reassemble beds, bookcases or electronics. Have:
- a screwdriver with multiple heads
- hammer
- plyers
- adjustable wrench
- tape
Where is that paperwork?
Lastly, have a bag with vital papers. You will need your purchase/rental documents for your new home. Carry memory sticks, backup drives, passports etc that you don’t want to be misplaced or stolen If there is work, assignments or agendas you will need the next day add them to the bag.
With these things easily accessible you can clean up and get a good night’s rest before you continue to unpack and make your new place a home.
Share your moving hacks in the comments.
If you need help with an 8-week packing/moving plan contact me julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
My guest blogger is Harold Taylor from Taylor in Time. He is a time management specialist. On October 20/2021 is wrote this thought provoking article.
“There was an interesting study done by Joybird, a custom furniture company, on how Americans organize their homes. It involved a survey of 1900 people who were asked among other things, how often they organized their homes. Responses indicated that 48.1% of them tidy up their home every week, 17.1% every two weeks, 19.3% once a month, 6.5% every other month, 6.1% every six months, 2.4% once a year, and 0.5% never.
But what was conspicuously absent was the option of “all the time,” which to me would have been a popular choice. At least it is one I subscribe to, and seems to be the easiest, most efficient, and most proactive way of keeping on top of your work or housekeeping. To quote Mark Forster, in his book, Secrets of Productive People, “being on top of your work gives you a sense of energy and flow. Being behind causes stress, and results in exhaustion, burnout, and depression.”
Personally, I would rather make the bed when I get up, stick the dishes and a dishwasher after I eat, and make the school kids’ lunches before I go to bed the night before. I could straighten out the kitchen while my meal was cooking, clean the bathtub while I was taking my shower, and wipe out the basin in the morning after I washed my hands. It would be easy to clean the kitchen sink while the kettle boiled and relax with my coffee as I listened to the news.
If people were proactive, they would stop for gas when it was convenient, not when the gas gauge was showing empty. And they might have time to check the tires while they were there. When shopping, they could buy two frequently used, but non-perishable, items and buy another one at their convenience after the first one was used. It is the same principle with office supplies. They should never run out of sticky notes, printer paper, staples, pens, glue sticks, batteries, light bulbs and so on.
At night they could select the clothes that they wanted to wear the next day instead of leaving the decision until morning when they are still half asleep and rushed for time.
And of course, the more stuff they have in their home, the harder it is to keep orderly, whether clothes, jewelry, or whatever. I have a rule that when I buy something, such as a new sweater, I get rid of an older one.”
Many of my clients say they get tired of cleaning, decluttering and organizing all the time. Once things are organized it takes less time to put things away and clean things up. Everything has a place and you don’t have to think anymore about what to do with an item. Cleaning takes less time because you are not tidying up and cleaning. Surfaces are empty of “junk”. Most things in your life only take a few minutes to do. Do them right away, avoid big clean-ups and enjoy your time doing the things you want to do.
Let me know your thoughts about this article. Can you put things away and clean things up immediately after you are done using them?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 3 minutes
Where are those 2 special boxes?
Moving is stressful. The packing of all the boxes, the day of moving and then the unpacking. It is easy to misplace something you need on moving day or soon after you arrive. Consider having those important things with you in your vehicle.
What are the 2 most important boxes?
When you are moving pack 2 boxes that have everything you need for moving day and the first night. Keep these 2 boxes with you and not in the moving truck. These boxes should include:
- Glasses – plastic or glass for drinks or water.
- A roll of paper towels
- A roll of toilet paper for each bathroom
- A bar of soap or container of liquid soap for the bathroom
- A hand towel in the bathroom
- Dishcloth, dish soap and tea towel for cleaning dishes that may be dusty from moving
- Sheets for the bed and pillows so you can go to sleep at the end of a long day moving in
- Towels for a shower and basic cosmetics to clean up after the move
- A change of clothes as well as medications
- Chargers for your phone, tablet and computer
What supplies are important?
It is handy to pack a pail of basic cleaning supplies so you can do a quick clean before things are unpacked. Bring:
- Cloths
- All-purpose cleaning supplies
- Broom and dustpan
- Mop
- Pack it all in a pail
Pack a toolbox with basic tools. You may have to reassemble beds, bookcases or electronics. Have:
- a screwdriver with multiple heads
- hammer
- plyers
- adjustable wrench
- tape
Where is that paperwork?
Lastly, have a bag with vital papers. You will need your purchase/rental documents for your new home. Carry memory sticks, backup drives, passports etc that you don’t want to be misplaced or stolen If there is work, assignments or agendas you will need the next day add them to the bag.
With these things easily accessible you can clean up and get a good night’s rest before you continue to unpack and make your new place a home.
Share your moving hacks in the comments.
If you need help with an 8-week packing/moving plan contact me julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 5 minutes
I love to travel. I enjoy exploring Canada, North America, South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, Asia and Australia. I will go almost anywhere. Whether you travel in-person or virtually it is a joy to see new places, people, cultures and ideas. One of the fun things I like doing on my travels is finding things relating to organization. Sometimes the items are good product solutions, show a novel way to use a product, encourage recycling, a fun invention or a thought provoking work of art.
Good Products
I found these stacking laundry baskets in a store. I like them because they stack in a way that you can place items in either basket without unstacking them.
Look at this coffee cup! You fold the top in a specific way and it makes a spout. Everything is recyclable.
Novel Solutions
Once again I was shopping and noticed this shoe organizer that was being used in a novel way. It was holding maps that were for sale. It was easy to see the titles on the maps and quickly purchase the one you needed.
I am an avid cyclist so when I saw this bike repurposed it caught my eye.
Are there too many tea cups around your home? I have seen them used for planting, given away as part of a tea party brunch and hats for gnomes. Here is another first use them as light fixtures.
Do you have any old canvas pictures or wooden signs around taking up space? Convert it into a device to hang items. It keeps them visible, uses vertical space and looks interesting on the wall.
A client made a lovely table out of an old treadle sewing machine.
One of my hotel rooms had this garbage can. It is divided into 4 sections for recycling – plastic, paper, glass, cans and waste. I thought this was a fantastic way to get travellers to recycle. Everything was disposed of in one place.
Fun inventions
The first time I saw this I was a little confused. It is a tap and hand dryer all in one. No dripping across the floor to get a paper towel or use a hand dryer mounted on the wall. It also is a no-touch device that makes it easy to have clean hands when you’re done washing. How does it work? You wash your hands under the tap, the water is turned on by a sensor. Then you move your hands to the right and left ( I like to call them the airplane wings) and the air turns on to dry your hand.
I enjoy seeing furniture that has more than one purpose. These tables can be used as seating, they store nicely under each other and they are eye catching home decor.
Thought Provoking Artwork
Sometimes my organizational find is artwork. This piece is called Organization. It is oil on canvas, 1933-1936, painted by Armenia born, American artist Arshile Gorky. I wonder why he called it that. Any thoughts?
This metal sculpture is by Ruth Ewan, 2019. It is called the Silent Agitator. Ewan’s clock is based on an illustration by Ralph Chaplin. It is a nod to the Industrial Workers of the World labour party. (IWW). It is also a new timepiece adding to the historical collection of ones that helped sailors know what time it was.
Donation
I saw this very creative way to share donations. Items are bagged and tied onto a fence. Anyone can take an item they can use.
Competition
I have not travelled to Nepal, a friend has. She sent me this picture with the caption, competition? It was fun to see a very similar logo in another country.
Here a just a few fun organizing finds from some of my travels. Which one do you like best? Let me know in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
My guest blogger this month is Marija Trifunovic from Arizona Moving Professionals.
A neat and organized kitchen space and pantry reflect how well you manage your meals and your household in general. People with large families know that keeping everything neat is often challenging when you also need to stock up on food. Luckily, there’s a way to reorganize your pantry and make sure it looks good and is practical and easy to manage. Let’s go through some super helpful pantry organization ideas that will help you make it neat as a pin – and keep it that way!
Create a unified look with plastic stackable containers
With all the foods in containers of different shapes and sizes, it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve got in your pantry. That’s why packing all of the foods in a one-style container will make it super organized and easy to use. Find see-through, stackable containers that you can use for different types of food such as rice, grains, flour, pasta, cereals, and more. If they’re made of see-through plastic, it will be easier to see what’s inside and how much food is left.
Labels
You can make labels for all the contents in your pantry for easier organization. You can even buy blank stickers and write what’s inside each jar or container. Labels make it easier to manage the pantry, and the space will look even better if you use the same style everywhere.
Pull-out cabinets for reaching items in the back
Oil bottles, spices, and similar items often get stuck in a cabinet, so you use only the bottles or jars in front, forgetting about the ones in the back. Well, how about a cabinet you can pull out like a drawer and see all the items in it? You can custom-make it to fit your pantry or turn one regular cabinet into a pull-out one.
Use dividers
Use dividers to help you organize your drawers and cabinets whenever you can. Drawer dividers and organizers are probably the best way to keep the mess out, as you need to put the items back as they were. They’ll keep your drawers and cabinets as tidy as possible.
Create a spice rack
One of the best ways to organize and use up all the spices is to have them on display and see what you’ve got. Firstly, pour them into all the same jars and label each jar clearly. Next, use a simple book or picture shelf for all the jars. You can hang it on the back of the pantry door or a wall. This is one of the pantry organization ideas that will help with smart storage management, too. It’s perfect for small kitchens and pantries where you want to use every inch of space.
Go vertical
You might feel like you’ve got enough space in your pantry, but creating more space options will make every space look better. Use up the vertical space in your pantry by adding some shelves on top of the cabinets. Also, you can place a couple of baskets on the highest shelves and use them for things you don’t use daily. These are often seasonal items, holiday food tools, supplies, etc. Finally, use baskets to fill any open shelves that look messy. You can hide things in baskets to make the shelves look good and have everything tidy and in its place.
Bonus tip: using the vertical space in your pantry might result in shelves too high to reach. There’s a simple solution for this – a library ladder. Use to reach items that are placed high and have a spacious and organized pantry simultaneously.
Easy access to items you use daily
When organizing a pantry, the most crucial factor is how often you use something to cook. The priority factor will help you manage your foods to make the ones you need daily easily accessible. Sugar, flour, pasta – ensure these are placed in secure containers suitable for everyday use and put in a place where you can easily reach them.
Create a coffee and tea station
If you’re into morning or evening rituals of drinking tea and coffee, you simply need a station for making your favourite drink. Get a box or organizers for all the tea bags, coffee capsules, and other items you need to make your perfect morning cup of joy. Also, keep it together with your favourite cups and everything else you need to use or maintain your coffee machine. It will make this task much faster and easier once you have everything in one place.
Get a pegboard
This is one of the ideas for pantry organization you can use in other rooms in the house, such as your office, garage, or crafts room. Pegboards are a fantastic tool for organizing smaller items you need to prepare food – hang knives, measuring spoons, cutting boards, etc. You’ll use vertical space and clear-out cabinets and drawers.
First things first…
It’s important to know exactly how much space you have, so do a serious decluttering session first. Take everything out and remove all items that passed expiration dates, got spoiled, etc. Also, taking everything out for a moment will help you see how much space you have in your pantry. It will also make it easier to visualize the area and see which of the pantry organization ideas will work the best. Decluttering also works wonders for the entire home, so practice it regularly. However, if there are items, you can’t have at your home but still want to keep, decluttering with storage units is a great solution for this. Use a storage unit for seasonal items, hobby supplies, sports equipment you currently don’t use, old furniture that needs a makeover, etc.
These pantry organization ideas prove one thing – having a tidy pantry is easy. With just a few modifications and smart usage of space, you can truly enjoy preparing meals for your family.
If you need help implementing these ideas book a virtual organizing session with me.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 10 minutes
If you want to try and get your wardrobe organized once and for all, then you have come to the right place. Here you can find out the mistakes you could be making with your wardrobe, while also finding ways to actively try and fix the issue. If you want to find out more, then simply take a look below.
Start with a Big Clear-out
It is suggested that you have a big clear-out as this is the best way for you to try and get things nice and organized. You need to decide what you want to sell, what you want to keep, what you want to donate and what you need to throw away. Try things on as you go. If you leave a big pile of clothes to try on until the end, the task may seem overwhelming. Some clothes may have fit once upon a time and may not fit anymore, an item may need to be repaired, your tastes may have changed, or you never know, there could be a gem that was lost at the back of the closet that does fit you. If you can be mindful of how your body and style change with time, it will help you to keep only the clothing that suits you and prevent you from having a lot of items that do not fit anymore or items that are dated.
Adopt a System for your Wardrobe
Try to adopt the policy of one item in, and one item out. For every new item you buy, you need to make sure that you give one away. If you want to test yourself, then make it two items that you give away. If you have a good clear-out, when you bring something new home, it will fit nicely in your closet, match other clothing, be the correct size and make it easier for you to get dressed in the morning.
Make Some Money
You might not like something anymore, that doesn’t mean that someone else will feel the same way. To reduce your shopping buy something new only when you have made money from selling something old. Make sure that you use sites such as eBay when you’re researching what your items might sell for. There are also consignment shops that focus on high-end pieces as well. If you are trying to sell clothes to a store, they should be no older than 6 months. Stores, like Plato’s Closet, want to have current fashions and items that will sell quickly. You may find that you are able to make more than you think, and it is a fantastic way to remove frustrating clutter.
Organize Everything
If you can take the time to organize everything then your wardrobe will look neater and you will save a lot of time choosing your outfit. When you need to get changed in a hurry, having your clothes organized can work wonders. There are many systems for organizing a closet.
You can group clothing by type, pants, shorts, shirts, ties, sweaters, blouses, dresses, suits etc. Next, you can group each category by colour. This is a great way to see how many you have of each colour. In my closet, I have enough black items (pants, tops, dresses). So when I go shopping I don’t even look at anything black.
You might prefer to put your clothes into outfits. Placing a top, bottom and third piece together makes it easy to pick your outfit for the day. This system allows you to see how many single piece items you own. Those items are the ones that don’t get worn often because they don’t go with anything. That is a good category of items to donate.
Thirdly, you might organize by purpose. Group together all your work clothes, workout clothes, party/fancy clothes, casual clothes and lounging clothes. This system lets you see how much you have in each category compared to how much time you spend doing these activities. For example, if you work 40 hours/week, workout 5 hours/week, spend 15 hours/week doing things and 1 evening/week getting dressed up you can see that your wardrobe needs mostly work clothes, a few casual clothes, less fancy clothes and some workout clothes. Check and see if you have a balanced wardrobe for your lifestyle.
If you find it hard to stay then organize your wardrobe 3 or 4 times a year to see if it is balanced by lifestyle and colour as well as how many unused single items are hiding.
Don’t Forget about Shoes
As you get older your feet change. You lose the strength in your arch and your foot flattens making your foot wider. Try on every pair of shoes to see if they fit, if they are in good repair and a style you like. Group your shoes to make it easier to find what you need. They might be grouped by season, colour or style. If you have a lot of shoes in boxes then tape a picture to the outside of the box. It will make it easier for you to find what you need without having to go through endless boxes. You might want to purchase clear shoe boxes for storage. There are many shoe organizing systems, over the door, under the bed, wall units, cupboards, racks etc. Look for an option that suits your needs and space. If you purchase expensive shoes get them repaired. Zippers can be replaced, heels can be reheeled, soles can be replaced and once they are polished professionally they will look like new. Shoes can be donated too.
Invest in the Right Equipment
Many people like matching hangers, purely because it means that you do not end up getting distracted by a messy looking wardrobe. There are many styles of hangers and sometimes you need specialized hangers for certain garments, pants, skirts, ties, belts, scarves etc. If you have a small closet you will need to use less bulky hangers. Wooden hangers take up a lot of space. Felt covered hangers prevent items from slipping off but it takes patience to get a garment hanging smoothly. If you’re not a patient person only purchase a few felt covered hangers. Whatever style of hanger you like (plastic, metal, wooden, felt), purchase a good quality one so they don’t break, crack or bend. Try using boxes in the drawers or on the shelves to keep clothing organized. They prevent items from “moving” all over and making it difficult to find what you need. They work well for belts, bags, scarves, socks, smaller items etc. If you invest in the right systems, that match your closet and personality, you will find it is easier for you to stick to your system.
Separate Clothing by Seasons
You may find it helpful to divide your clothes into summer and winter options if you have a smaller closet. Having only half your clothing displayed at one time makes it easier to find what you need. When you change the clothing displayed for the next season, it is a good time for you to go through everything, donating items you didn’t wear, don’t like or don’t fit. In some places, people have more items they wear year round and with climate change, there is becoming less of a need for 2 seasons of clothing. This means you will need fewer clothes and it will be easier to keep everything organized.
When you are deciding what clothes to keep and what to donate ask yourself:
- Do I get compliments when I wear it?
- Does it fit and do I feel good when I wear it?
- Does it send the right message about the type of person I am? (confident, fun, honest, knowledgeable, healthy, etc)
- How much is enough?
Reducing the amount of clothing you own, having a great closet space, and using good organizing devices will help you to have an organized wardrobe. I think I have addressed many concerns about organizing your wardrobe. Have I left anything out? Let me know in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Often times we feel pressure to give an answer quickly or make a decision fast. As a parent, I learned to say I’ll get back to you or let me think about it before giving my decision. Sometimes it was a matter of counting to 10 before speaking. You may have a number of techniques to use that help you slow down your decision making until you can get all the facts. With technology all around us, there is pressure to work quickly. Learn what the best amount of time to spend on making decisions is so your values shine through in your work and life.
This blog is written by Mayo Oshin at MayoOshin.Com. and originally appeared on MayoOshin.Com as “Why waiting is the difference between success and failure ” on October 7, 2019
Shortly after midnight on September 26, 1983, the world nearly came to an end.
A few hours earlier, Stanislav Petrov—a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces—began his shift as the duty officer at Serpukhov-15, a secret command center near Moscow where the Soviet military monitored early-warning satellites over the United States.
Petrov’s job was simple: Monitor the satellites and notify his superiors of any nuclear missile attacks against the Soviet Union.
There was no cause for alarm, up until midnight.
And then suddenly, the red sirens surrounding the command center began to scream and the word “Launch” flashed up in big red letters across the white walls above the computers.
The computers flashed images of one nuclear missile attack from the United States, with the highest possible probability.
Considering the soviet warning computer had to go through 30 levels of security checks before confirming an actual missile launch, there was little doubt that the nuclear attack was legit. 1
Fear and panic filled the command center. And with only 20 minutes to react before impact, Petrov had to make a quick decision.
3 weeks prior, the Soviets shut down a commercial airplane flown across Soviet airspace from New York, killing all 269 passengers.
Since then, tensions hit their highest point since the beginning of the Cold War, and the Soviets were obsessed with fears of an attack from the U.S.
The incidence at the command center appeared to be the confirmation of their fears.
All it took was one phone call reporting the attack to Petrov’s superiors, and the Soviet leader, Yuri Andropov, would’ve most likely pulled the trigger on a nuclear missile counterstrike on the U.S.
As Petrov later said: “I had all the data [to suggest there was an ongoing missile attack]. If I had sent my report up the chain of command, nobody would have said a word against it,” he said. 2
As the sirens screamed louder and louder, Petrov instructed his subordinates to run more tests to check whether the missile attack was real—he decided to wait until all procedures were complete.
But within a few minutes, another alarm went off and the overhead displays flashed in red with a rocket attack sign.
This time the computer system showed five nuclear missiles in quick succession headed toward the Soviet Union.
The tension in the command center was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. As Petrov noted: “The moment the third alarm went off, I started feeling like I was sitting in a hot frying pan. I broke out into a sweat. I couldn’t feel my feet.” 3
Over 200 of Petrov’s subordinates fixed their eyes on him to hear the final decision.
But Petrov didn’t react. Instead, he chose to delay his decision and gather more information.
With only a few minutes left before impact, Petrov finally picked up the phone and called his superiors to inform them that the attack was a false alarm caused by a system malfunction.
He was right. The Soviet satellites had mistaken the sun’s reflection off the clouds for a missile attack from the United States.
Petrov’s delay in taking action prevented a potential nuclear retaliation and Third World War.
Decades later, the mass media of the Western world caught wind of Petrov’s role in the Cold War, and dubbed him “The Man Who Saved the World.” 4
In a Fast World, Think Slow and Act Slower
“We never live; we are always in the expectation of living.”
—Voltaire
Everything around us is moving faster and faster, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
We want it all and we want it now: Instant messages, fast food, same-day grocery deliveries, speed dating, quick riches, rapid business growth, and the list goes on.
Impatience is our new virtue and speed is our motto.
But the constant pressure to get things done faster and make quick decisions often leads to avoidable mistakes that cost significant time and money, stress and burnout.
A series of studies conducted by two professors from Stanford and UCLA, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Sanford E. DeVoe, found that when we think about time as money—as we often do nowadays—we work longer hours and sacrifice our leisure and social time. 5
In particular, the researchers were shocked to discover that higher salaries earned by the participants led to more time pressure to work faster and longer, more stress outside of working hours and greater impatience with results.
As Pfeffer noted: “There’s some evidence that people feel more overworked and pressed for time than ever before, which is inconsistent with most measures to date of how much people are actually working in comparison to their leisure time.” 6
The mass media promotes the idea that faster is better and successful people make quick decisions in the “blink” of an eye.
But what if taking things slow and waiting until the last minute is better for decision-making, up until a certain point?
Decisions made too quick or too slow are sub-optimal.
Is it a coincidence that exceptional entrepreneurs, athletes, and investors, like Warren Buffett, have an uncanny ability to wait and then act at the right time within their circle of competence?
Or that the greatest military generals tend to spend a good amount of time observing before taking action, and genius innovators like Albert Einstein, spend years in solitude before they discover ingenious breakthrough ideas?
The common thread amongst top performers isn’t how fast they act. It’s when they act.
And when they act is often at the point of optimal time delay, which helps them to make better decisions than everyone else and stay at the top of their game.
So, how do you figure out your optimal time delay before taking action?
The answer to this question is less of an exact science and more of a subtle art.
It varies based on the nature of the decision, your level of experience in making similar decisions and your gut feeling.
As a rule of thumb, the more deliberate practise you’ve put into making similar decisions, the shorter your optimal time delay. Because your subconscious mind has been trained so well to take action on your behalf without much thinking required.
If you’re constantly stressed out, have a track record of making avoidable mistakes and struggle with instant gratification, then it’s likely you’re too far left of your optimal time delay and need to procrastinate a bit longer before making decisions.
By delaying our actions in our everyday lives—before speaking, replying to emails, saying yes and committing, hiring a new employee, creating a new year’s resolution, and so on—we can regain clarity of what’s truly important, make better decisions and achieve our potential.
Wait
We have a tendency to beat ourselves up for putting things off until the last minute.
But more times than not, it pays to wait before making a decision.
Stanislav Petrov’s decision to delay his final decision until the last minute arguably saved the world from war and destruction.
And in our everyday lives, we can save ourselves from stress, and bad mistakes that waste valuable time and money, if we simply wait a bit longer before making decisions.
In art, it’s the “subtle” changes that make the difference between a breathtaking and uninspiring painting.
In life, however, it’s the “subtle” moments of delay that make the difference between success and failure.
Mayo Oshin writes at MayoOshin.Com, where he shares the best practical ideas based on proven science and the habits of highly successful people for stress-free productivity and improved mental performance. To get these strategies to stop procrastinating, get more things by doing less and improve your focus, join his free weekly newsletter. The internet is noisy. Want to cut through the noise of useless information and feed your brain with well-researched ideas? Join 10,000 curious minds and get your brain food by clicking subscribe
I think this article has covered everything. Are there any ideas that should be added? Let me know in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Yard sales are an excellent way to meet people, make some money and have fun. There are many ways to organize a yard sale. The timing of the sale is important to the success of the sale. You need to be flexible about pricing if you want to have less stuff at the end of the day. Let’s start with the easiest way to prepare for a yard sale.
This way takes less time and energy to set up.
Get several boxes or bins to collect your items. Mark each container with a price $1.00 $2.00 $0.25 $0.50 $5.00 etc. As you are collecting your items for the sale decide how much you will sell the item for and put the objects of the same price into the same box. You are pricing items as you sort them so there is less work to do later. Using boxes means you don’t need to price every item individually with a sticker. Many charities will not take items left over from a yard sale. Part of the reason is they would need to remove all of the stickers.
Have separate display areas /tables for each price grouping. Place a sign on the front of each of the tables explaining everything on this table costs _______. You are finished and ready to have a great day.
This way will help you to have less stuff at the end of the day
Group your items into batches. For example a set of dishes, all the hand tools, groups of 10 books, baby clothing of the same size, CDs DVDs. The person needs to buy the entire batch not just part of it. This way helps you to move more items on each purchase. They buy 10 CDs for $5.00 instead of 1 for $0.50. Place batches of items in boxes or see-through bags.
This way makes sure you get the correct price for the item
If you want to use tags the easiest way is to:
- use one tag colour per price group.
- red for $10.00, blue for $5.00 etc.
- place a colour-coded sticker on each item and when the person buys it, you know exactly what to charge.
- Make a sign explaining that each colour represents a specific price
If you want to do more work you can price items individually.
- Place a sticker on the item and write on it the cost of the item.
- This is good for large items that you will be priced higher.
In special circumstances, tags are very helpful if:
- the garage sale is for multiple families you can assign each group their own colour and you know which cash box to put the money in.
- multiple family members are selling items at the same sale you can assign each person their own colour and you know which cash box to put the money in.
You will need to remove the stickers after the sale before you can donate items.
How much should it sell for?
Pricing
If your goal is to sell stuff so you have less at the end of day price items:
- 50% of the original price for brand new or barely used items
- 25% – 30% of the original price for the older items
- You can always ask them to make you an offer. You might get more than you expected or less.
If you have more expensive items to sell do your research to determine a fair price for the article.
Sometimes a yard sale seems like a great way to make money. Make sure you are the type of person who likes to barter and is not offended when people tell you that something is not worth the value you have placed on it.
If you will be offended and not make a sale, a yard sale is not for you.
To ensure you get the sale, have change.
Make sure to never leave the money unattended. Keep the money in a waist pouch so it can’t be stolen.
Change
- have $25 in change
- $20 in $1, $4 in quarters, $1 in dimes and nickels
- If you don’t have change people will not buy from you.
Timeline for preparing for a yard sale
It takes time to set up and clean up from a yard sale.
- sort, clean, price 1 – 2 days
- advertising 2 hrs
- arrange and display wares 4 hrs
- get change 1 hr
- tag sale itself 1 or 2 days
- take unsold items to charity 3 hrs
Advertising
Advertising is a big part of the success of the sale. There are lots of Facebook sites, Kijiji and Craigslist where you can advertise for free. You may also have a local paper where you can place an ad. Put up signs to let people know where the yard sale is located especially if you are not on well travelled streets with lots of cars and foot traffic.
Pick your date wisely. Spring and fall are the best times of the year. Long weekends are times when people travel. Weekends are usually better than weekdays. If you can do it with a number of families from your street at the same time you will get better results.
Is a Yard Sale for You?
Yard sales can be a fun way to get rid of your clutter, make some money and meet people if the weather is good. If you feel you don’t have the time, energy, a good location, great items for sale or don’t like bartering you may want to donate your items to a charity and spend the day doing something else.
How will you organize your yard sale? Maybe I didn’t mention your favourite way. Either way, leave me a comment.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 5 minutes
When I am working with clients one of the first things they tell me is how many junk drawers they have. I can tell they usually think they should have none. Depending on how you define junk drawers they may be right. Why are they keeping junk? Most likely they are referring to the drawers that contain many items, from a number of categories, that they don’t know where to store so they put them all in one drawer. Does that sound familiar? Let me relieve your discomfort and say a junk drawer is ok.
What is a junk drawer?
When I am working with clients I know that they need a drawer to place things that they need to access quickly. It may be a screwdriver, takeout menus, a lighter for candles, string, tape for labelling leftovers or light timers etc. What is in your junk drawer? The problems arise when the junk drawer has junk in it. Spilled expired pills, pieces of ribbon, miscellaneous hardware, unwrapped candy, unneeded receipts etc. These items need to go to the garbage or appropriate recycling. Clean out your junk drawer and make it a quick access drawer. Rename your junk drawer so it is easier to determine what should be stored in it to make your life easier. What is the new name for your junk drawer?
How many junk drawers may I have?
Now that we have established you don’t keep junk. You want things accessible. With my clients, I think that junk drawers in the kitchen and home office are common. It is easy to have a drawer on the main floor, usually the kitchen, for items that you commonly use and don’t want to go to other areas of the house to get. In the office, there is a drawer that holds things that are used frequently and you don’t want to go searching for them, tape, glue, paper, envelopes, and electronics. Make sure that your office doesn’t become a junk room, storing everything that has not been assigned a storage space somewhere else in the home. I would suggest one junk drawer per floor in your home. How many junk drawers do you have?
Are junk drawers a bad thing? Only if they contain junk. Share on X
How to organize a junk drawer
A junk drawer should not be disorganized. You won’t be able to find what you need in the drawer. I have seen junk drawers so stuffed full that they can’t be opened. Use containers to organize items so that when you open the drawer you can access what you are looking for. There are lots of products available to keep the drawer organized:
- containers
- expansion drawer dividers
- expandable trays
- jars
- ziplock bags
Whatever your preference is, sort, remove unneeded items and then purchase your organizing product or repurpose items you already own.
I have containers for:
- pens, paper, pencils and makers,
- twist ties, elastics and bread tags,
- light timer and electrical outlet power bar
- string and tape
- first aid items.
That is what I need in my junk drawer. What do you need in your easy access drawer?
Why are junk drawers bad?
Junk drawers are not bad. Everyone needs a place to put items they don’t know where to store. Junk drawers are only bad when they store items you don’t need and are afraid to let go of. Look through your junk drawer on a regular schedule and clean it out. Remove items you don’t need, take items to their proper storage place and put the real junk in the garbage. Junk drawers are bad when they give you an excuse to procrastinate and not take the time to put things away properly or make decisions about what to keep and what to let go. Does your junk drawer let you procrastinate?
Let me help you with your junk drawers. Book a complimentary virtual organizing chat with me.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Perhaps you are familiar with the Professional Organizer industry. It is an unregulated industry. Anyone can call themselves a Professional Organizer. Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) was established about 23 years ago and the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) the American organization is about 40 years old. Look for organizers listed on these directories. Most Professional Organizers have their own businesses and specialize in areas of organizing. As you read their websites you will be able to see their years of experience, type of training and continuing education.
What happens when you call an organizer?
Usually, there is some type of conversation over the phone, Zoom or email to discover what type of organizing dilemma you want solved. It might be to have a space organized, help with moving, develop systems to make things function more smoothly, downsizing, coaching or virtual organizing etc. Then there is a description of how the job will be completed. This is about the only common business practice. Since we all own our own businesses we have varying ways of continuing.
When you contact Mind over Clutter:
Can you get an estimate of the cost for the work to be completed?
Most times it is hard to estimate how long a job will take during the conversation. I offer a free one-hour assessment to my in-person clients to see what the job entails and give you an idea of how long I think it might take and what we will do. I also offer a 30-minute assessment to my virtual clients. One of the biggest factors on how long a job will take is how easily and quickly you can make decisions if items stay or go. The second factor is, that sometimes the job expands to include unforeseen work: filing papers, assembling shelving or bookcases, corners and areas not discussed during the assessment. I work at an hourly rate and offer a package of 10 hours at a reduced rate.
How does it work?
My virtual clients have 4 ways of working with me.
- A series of mini sessions
- Be there with you online as you work on your project to support, coach and mentor you
- Complete plan is developed for you to do on your own timeframe
- Develop routines and systems to help manage your time
80% of my in-person clients work with me to go through items and decide what will stay and what will be donated or recycled. Then we discuss the best place and way to store the items so they can be easily found and used. Most clients like to learn the skill of organizing so working together helps them to learn where start, how to sort, how to decide what stays and what goes, how to store things in containers and where is the best location to store different types of items.
What if you don’t want to help or can’t help?
If you don’t want to help, I can work alone sorting items based on our conversation on what you want to keep and what you want to donate. Then I create a donate pile a garbage pile and a recycle pile. Nothing leaves the house until you have looked through each pile. If you can’t help, you can sit with me and I can bring you things to do and you can answer my questions.
What if you need some guidance but can do all the work myself?
We can work together virtually. You show me the space to organize over Zoom and I send you a plan and you complete the work. Here is more information about virtual organizing. Or I can coach you through the process virtuallyusing Zoom by discussing what you want to accomplish and how you can accomplish it.
Maybe you don’t want me to see your home. You can purchase my online course
What happens with donations and recycling?
At the end of each work session, I take the donations. I will drop them at centers that will take your things. I can take them to the donation center of your choice too. I take non-curbside recycling at the end of each session. Usually, that includes batteries, paint cans, small electronics, small appliances, textile recycling, medications, and plastic bags.
Why wouldn’t you just do it yourself after the one hour free assessment?
Some people do. They have enough information and can continue with the job. Most people feel overwhelmed and stressed by doing it on their own. They find it easier to work with a professional who can guide them through the problem, help solve it and reduce the stress they feel about the situation. Working with someone makes you block time out for the appointment and helps you to stop putting it off. It is always more fun working with someone than working alone.
My virtual clients find that working with me makes them accountable to themselves and to me, especially in the mini-session program. We work together weekly, biweekly or monthly.
Will you give me homework to do?
Only if you want it. Some people like to keep going with the work and get it done quickly. Some people don’t want to work alone or would feel bad if they didn’t get the homework done so I don’t give that person anything to do. There are some tasks that are very time consuming and if you can do it on your own it makes it more cost effective for you, sorting paper, going through books, CDs, VHS tapes, and clothing. However, those tasks can be difficult to figure out what to keep and what to donate, so it might be easier for you to do it with me present.
Let’s chat
If you need more information book a complimentary 30-minute virtual chat with me, whether you want to work in person or online. I hope to hear from you soon.
Please post your questions in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
