Blog

Struggling with Less Structure? Getting Things Done in the Age of Coronavirus

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In a 24-hour period last week I had two clients not show up for their Zoom appointments.  This isn’t a regular occurrence.  The first emailed later stating, “… I don’t even know what day it is because they’ve all started to blur into one. “  The second, shared waking up that morning thinking it was a totally different day of the week.  I might be annoyed, if I didn’t totally get where they were coming from.  Days … Read More

Living Intentionally with Single-Use Plastics

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Significant Emotional Events We all have experiences that forever imprint on our minds and cause a shift in how we think about things.  My dad has always called them significant emotional events.  One of my significant emotional events occurred a few years back while whale watching on a 36-foot SuperRib in Southern California. Looking back, I vividly recall the awe as we found our small craft surrounded by a school of hundreds of dolphins.  And, I’ll likely not forget how … Read More

Three Steps to Pulling the Plug on Pinball Mind

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When I was in junior high school a friend had an old fashioned pinball machine in her basement. Almost forty years later, I still recall how exciting it was to keep that tiny metal ball in play.  I’d thwack it with the flippers and watch it ricochet off the bumpers and thwack at it again.  All the while, I was rewarded with bells, flashing lights and points!  Keeping that shiny silver sphere in play was so much … Read More

An Easier Way to Complete a Home Inventory

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Reading time ~ 5 minutes Please don’t laugh, or think less of me when I tell you that I’ve been trying to complete a home inventory since 1988.  Yes, you read that right, 1988.   1988 was the year I was married and the first time in my life that I really owned anything of value.  Only 22 years old, my husband and I began to amass the stuff that served as proof of our adulthood: tables … Read More

Five Possible Outcomes When You Stop Shopping

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In January of 2018 I challenged myself to not shop for or purchase clothing, shoes or accessories for twelve months.  Four months later I shared my takeaways to date from my shopping ban.  It’s now February of 2019 and I wanted to check in and share what I’ve discovered that I believe could be of benefit to you.  Before sharing, I must confess to the purchase of two banned items. Going into 2018 I was confident two … Read More

Ethical Consumption – Questions You Should Be Asking

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Reading time ~ 5 minutes  Until recently, our minimalism journey has been focused primarily on releasing stuff we no longer need or want. My focus shifted a little last month though after noting how many people commented on a particular topic on a professional organizer’s forum I subscribe to. The topic was Ethical Consumption.  Unfortunately most of my organizing colleague’s comments related to the back end of consumption, which I’ll call ethical disposal.  This encompasses recycling, reusing, … Read More

2019! New Year, New Look & New Choices for You!

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I hope  2019 is going well and you’re still keeping up with those new year’s resolutions!  I’m not big into beginning of the year resolutions but I am into goals. One of my goals for 2018 was to “continue to update my website to best reflect my chosen direction.”  I was doing well with that goal until the day came when my website theme was no longer updatable. You see, it seems that website themes (the platforms … Read More

Three Habits My Clothing Shopping Ban is Teaching Me About

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As of May 1 I’ve completed one-third of my year-long clothing shopping ban.  Through this experiment I’m learning quite a bit about my shopping, wearing and purchasing habits.  Any of you out there who might be trying to curb shopping, reduce spending or just be more mindful about your purchasing might find what I’m learning helpful.   1) Shopping Habits: As expected, I continued to notice during the first few months of not shopping how strong my celebratory … Read More

Honoring YOUR Values as You Simplify Your Life

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Reading time ~ 4 minutes Sometimes people in your life have a hard time understanding choices you make. There is a woman I knew, we’ll call her Jill, who was frustrated with a friend of hers, who wasn’t available as often as Jill expected her to be.  The friend was happy to hang out with Jill during the day, but every time Jill invited her to dinner or an evening meeting or event, she was turned down.  … Read More

You Can Release Your Albatross!

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Once upon a time… I owned the beautiful antique reed pump organ in these photos*. It was black walnut and oak with intricately carved panels and delicate calligraphy lettering on the red velvet encased stops. It provided a workout when played, because the air forced through it to create sound was produced by pumping its large pedals.  It was one of the first antiques my mom purchased back in the 1960’s and it was the first “piano” … Read More