I must ask myself “Is this realistic, or achievable for me?”

I am sure all of us can picture the perfect pantry, wardrobe, or kitchen that we dream of.

My pantry does not look like this at all. It does have white walls, white shelves, and some pink and white baskets. That is about where it ends.

On the flip side, it is functional and seems to work for my husband and me. I will not mention our daughter though, who is quite happy to toss things in the general direction of where it belongs and does not bother her if a basket has not been pushed back fully onto the shelf.

So maybe the question should be “Is it functional?”

Let’s look at some of the questions to ask yourself when designing a pantry from scratch or working with an existing space.

Let’s look at some of the questions to ask yourself when designing a pantry from scratch or working with an existing space.

• Is it easily accessible?

• What existing space do you have?

• What existing shelves/cupboards do you have?

• Does the door hinder the kitchen space when open?

• Can you make changes that will assist in the use of your pantry space?

• What is your budget?

• What exactly are you planning to store in your pantry? 

• Are your shelves adjustable?

• Are there accessories that make the use of your pantry easier?

• How will I access the upper shelves/cupboards?

• Will your most used items be accessed or seen easily?

• Do you have a small cupboard or space near your kitchen that could be used as extended storage?

• Is there a storage solution for space that is currently not utilised e.g. vertical space?

The number of accessories now available to make our kitchen/pantry, or for any room in our homes are numerous. Things that spin, rotate or slide!

As Plato said “Necessity is the mother of invention” or, as Agatha Christie said “I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness – to save oneself trouble”.

If you are lucky enough to build a home from scratch you are presented with the perfect opportunity to design your pantry from the ground up, determining size, shelf height, depth and all the items that make a pantry function seamlessly. The one thing I would add to my current pantry, if possible, would be pull-out drawers.

I asked Robyn Hawke of Inspired Spaces what she would include when designing a pantry.

“Firstly, I would discuss with the client what their requirements are, what space is available, do they want a standard pantry or a butler’s pantry. We also need to think about what is going to be kept in the pantry. We do this to determine shelf height and allowing for storage of items. Take the time to measure pots, pans, bread boards, oven trays etc so space is allocated and designed accordingly”

The depth of shelves is also very important Robyn notes. “Any more than 300mm deep leads to items not being easily accessible and not seen. I don’t like corners either. They make accessibility difficult.”

“If a client wants additional appliances such as a dishwasher, oven or a kitchen sink, these also need to be taken into account during the design process” Robyn says. In a butler’s pantry Robyn prefers to have one side designated for floor to ceiling shelves and the other for appliances and prep space. A window, or skylight is also preferable.

“The same principles apply when altering or redesigning an existing pantry” Robyn says.

To see more of Robyn’s designs visit www.inspiredspaces.com.au.

For a free download on kitchen design click this link https://www.inspiredspaces.com.au/kitchen-guidelines/

As for my pantry, it will remain as is, and as time and budget allows, I might think about making some alternations. The only big change I have made to the pantry since moving into our home was to have the shelving altered. Originally, I did have triangle shaped corner shelves which drove me mad, mainly due to the difficulty of accessing and seeing items in the back corner.

This is my pantry! It’s not perfectly perfect and pretty as I would like but it’s functional!

The builders utilised the area under the stairs which is a great use of space.

The post Does It Have to Be Perfectly Perfect? appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

Some people have a natural tendency towards being organised, and for others it is a learnt skill.

As a child I would organise areas of my room on weekends. Nothing was left untouched. My drawers, study desk, my wardrobe and even cupboards located above my wardrobe. This was a dangerous exercise for a nine or ten-year-old. I would stand on an old chair and add a copy of an old White Pages phone book to add that extra bit of height. I made it through my childhood unscathed, but extremely organised. When I was older, I would expand my skills to other areas of our home. I didn’t know it then but being organised gave me a sense of calm. Maybe it made sense that I became a Professional Organiser to help other people create organised and relaxing spaces in their homes.

A study conducted by the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, found that the more clutter you can see, the more easily you’ll find yourself distracted. It can increase the inability to make decisions. How often have you decided to try to organise a space and been left more overwhelmed than when you started?

I suggest to everyone who asks, or clients that have me in their homes, that the most effective way to start is “small”. Just one drawer, one cupboard or one flat surface. There is no hard and fast rule that says which room to start in . . . it just should be small and achievable. Also, limit the number of choices that you use to deal with each item.

When making decisions try to imagine that you are starting with a completely blank space. Are the items that you choose to keep, going to enhance or detract from that space. One client told me she imagined she was moving to a beautiful French villa. She would ask herself if she really wanted that item in her new space. The answer was usually “no”.

This is especially important in the bedroom. This is a space where we go to relax and recharge for the next day. Make this a space that is also visually calming and easy to fall asleep in.

Reduce Stress & Depression

Having had my own battles with Bi-polar and depression in the past, this is certainly true for me. Not only emotionally exhausted, I also felt physically exhausted. This is not a good combination when wanting to get on top of things. Getting up in the mornings was bad enough, but then dragging myself into my unorganised office was even worse. I found myself unable to make the simple decision to turn on my desktop, let alone deal with phone calls and complete administration tasks. I would turn around and return to my bed where it was warm and cozy.

A wonderful and amazing friend offered to come over and help me get all my paperwork under control. She is an extremely organised person and was able to help me go through one piece of paper at a time and what action needed to be taken. By having a clear and uncluttered space my anxiety was notably reduced. This created the space that I needed to then move forward. It also helped alleviate my added anxiety. I am by no way saying that my organised office was the key to “curing” my episode of depression, but it was a small step in the right direction.

Saves Money & Time

How many times have you found yourself purchasing a second or third item of something because you cannot find the original? This happens regularly for people who find themselves disorganised. These may include small items e.g. a pair of scissors or food items that are already hidden in the back of your pantry, or more expensive pieces such as a child’s toy, or part of a school uniform.

An average person can spend 2.5 days per year looking for lost items. Aside from looking for the car keys or their wallet, I am sure a lot of this time is spent by parents who are trying to get their kids out the door for school every morning. “Where are your school shoes?” they cry!!!

Make Room for What Matters

For example, there may come a time when two siblings no longer want to share one room. The answer may lie in decluttering a bedroom, that over time has become the “junk” room.
Knowing that the children want this so much, the stuff in the cluttered room could suddenly become less important and creating an additional bedroom far outweighs the need to hang onto these unused items.
Note: I was an only child and always desperately wanted a sibling to share a room. The reality may have been much different, especially if there was a spare room that the said sibling could be moved into.

Easier Decision Making

Do you stand staring into your wardrobe thinking that you have nothing to wear? A lesser number of items might make this decision a whole lot easier.

Simplifying decisions, like what to wear, gives you more mental space to make more decisions that you are faced with throughout the day.

We are currently bombarded with messages by the media and retailers that our lives will be much richer and happier if we own their product. If you multiply these messages with the number of products, our clutter can grow very quickly.

I personally found that when our girls were younger, presenting them with only two options, in certain circumstances, made it a lot easier and quicker for them to decide. Any time saved with raising kids can only be a good thing.

I hope this blog inspires you to make a start to restore some calm and peace to your home, reduce stress, save time and money, make room for what matters and simplify your decision making.

Leesa

The post Getting Organised Does Have Its Benefits appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

I attended this event to see if there were any new innovative storage ideas that I could use with clients. Yes, some very serious storage ideas are a necessity if you are choosing to live “tiny”. What I did find is that there is a lot to be learnt about the regulations of building/owning/moving/living a tiny home.
My first stop was the Australian Tiny House Association. They are a team of volunteers working together with councils across the country, the various authorities and policy makers to include considerations for tiny homes in their planning.

You can visit their website www.australiatinyhouseassociation.org.au for more details on:

• Road Rules & Vehicle Registration
• Building Regulations
• Planning & Dwelling
• Living Tiny by State or Territory

Their definition of a tiny home is:
“Tiny houses are moveable dwellings up to 50m2* that are suitable for residential use. Tiny houses can be largely grouped into 2 categories: on wheels or on skids.”
(*for one dwelling, excluding if they are connected)

You can purchase an annual membership to the association for $50.00. Below are some of the areas of information that you will have access to:

• Access to a network of tiny house advocates, enthusiasts and specialists.
• The opportunity to talk and interact with like-minded individuals
• Networking with other members who have experienced the ins and outs of negotiating the Tiny Home journey.

Uses for a Tiny Home

A tiny home can be used in a number of different ways.

1. A full-time residence
2. An Air B&B
3.  Granny Flat
4. Home Office
5. Extra space for the family
6.  A weekend getaway
7. A She-Shed. This concept is becoming increasingly popular

Tiny House Builders and $ Costs

The first builder I visited was Tiny Away – www.buildtiny.com.au . The starting price for a Panel Kit of their smaller model starts at AUD$35,000.

This group offers three options:

1. Buying a Tiny Home – buy outright
2. Tiny House Rental Program – a kind of try before you buy option. Rent first and buy when you are ready
3. Tiny House Getaway – great weekend getaway option. They have various locations across NSW and Vic.

The three tiny homes that were on display were probably best used as a weekend getaway. There was no real inside living area, limited kitchen appliances or clothing storage. There is a deck where you can sit outside and hopefully have a gorgeous view to look at. Aesthetically they were beautifully fitted out.

The next group was Havenwood Tiny Homes – www.havenwoodtinyhomes.com . They have a total of four models. The one that I looked through was The Maverick. The starting cost for a completed home and trailer was AUD$98,000.00 with prices increasing dependent on extras selected.

This is where I really started to see the possibility of living in a tiny home for an extended period of time. There is also a model with a setup of bunks for kids.

All the spaces are functional and plenty of really smart storage areas in every room. The bedroom, located on the ground floor has two rails for hanging clothes, two shelves above the bed and a footlocker style bench for additional storage.

The living area has additional cupboards fitted towards the ceiling so useable space is left at floor level.

The kitchen is fully equipped with all the appliances that you will need.

One of the options is a fold down deck which can be easily secured for travelling.

Finally, I saw the Hauslein Tiny House Co. (www.hauslein.com.au). This is really heading towards the serious end in tiny home building.

Prices start at AUD$79,000+ for their smallest model, the Little Sojouner, and up to AUD$110,000+ for their largest model, the Grand Sojouner. This model has the potential for three bedrooms. The master bedroom is downstairs with two upper level lofts.

The Grand Sojouner has everything that you could ask for in a tiny home. Beautifully fitted out with all the bells and whistles.

Positives & Negatives

Like anything, there are positives and negatives attached to tiny living.

So, what do I think the positive and negatives are of living tiny? This is my list of 14.

+ You can travel with your Tiny House
– The costs associated with moving a tiny home can be high

+ Living with less possessions
– Living with less possessions

+ Less space to clean
– Need to clean more often

+ Less space means less consumption
– Having to go without the tiny luxuries

+ You can customise your tiny home
– Restricted by what you can bring into the home due to weight restrictions when moving a tiny home

+ More affordable than buying a traditional house
– Building tiny can add costs e.g. smaller custom appliances can be more expensive, custom tiny furniture can cost more

+ Eating more fresh foods due to limited storage
– More trips to the supermarket due to less food storage

+ Small space to heat and cool
– Smaller A/C systems can struggle against weather extremes

+ No need to tie into septic systems
– Having to manually empty composting toilet

+ Some surprising storage ideas
– Not always functional or easy to access

+ Can be fitted with laundry facilities
– Appliances are extremely small which means more loads of washing

+ Doesn’t need a large parcel of land
– Locating and setting up a tiny home has restrictions which differ from state to state

+ Financial freedom
– Due to this being a relatively new way of living, financial lenders may be hesitant to finance this type of housing

+ Travelling with pets
– Travelling with pets

In closing, tiny living is not for everyone. My husband and I are definitely ready to downsize, but not to that extent just yet. We currently enjoy getting away in our caravan towed behind our 4WD. Maybe in the future. How do you feel about tiny living?

The post Are You Big on Living Tiny? appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

I also wanted to get some jobs done at home that had been put on the backburner for some time, and also the opportunity to spend more time with my Grandchildren. We also ran into some legal problems with one of our daughters and this took up an amazing amount of time, with a huge emotional toll attached.

Our youngest daughter had left to travel for approximately 18 months, and quite frankly this left a huge hole in our lives and constant worry for me.

By September 2019 I had been able to spend much more time with our eldest daughter and our three Grandchildren, the legal issues for our middle daughter had come to an end and a due date had been set for the return of our youngest.

With some kind of normalcy returning to our lives, I had really started to miss my working with clients and the joy that it gave me. Still not sure about the other areas of running a business I was lucky enough to pick up some work with another Professional Organiser who I had known for a number of years and who I also had a huge amount of respect for. I suddenly realized that my love had returned and I felt that completing all the other associated jobs would become manageable.

Looking back, the huge To Do List that I had set for myself was not achievable, taking into account my time and finances. I had the WHOLE picture in my mind of what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. My list included both small and larger tasks.

• Completely tidy and redo our front and back gardens
• Clear and reorganized our 2.5 garage
• Re-organise our bookshelf after having to empty it due to carpet repair
• Organise and set up rooms left by our other daughter who had recently left homeGet back to restoring small items of furniture that I had stored in the garage
• Move from room to room in our home and update the look after completing a large renovation prior to my time off
• De-clutter my filing cabinets and reorganize, as well as painting them to fit in with my new vision of how I wanted our home to look
• Get my sewing machine serviced because I was going to start sewing again
• Follow up finding a new solicitor to take over the management of our private affairs
• Paint our front door in a new colour and paint security door to match
• Get quotes for various jobs in our home that I would like to have done. E.g. installing a glass pool fence
• Spray all the paved areas around our home in Once a Year Weeding liquid
• Follow-up Private Health Funds
• Establish filing systems for my husband’s business. He has just started working for himself.

There were other items that I could list but already looking at the list of what I have not achieved in writing causes me to be upset with myself and extremely frustrated.

So, for the purpose of this blog this is what I, and maybe you, need to focus on:

• Even as a Professional Organiser I can let things get away from me and in turn, suffer from some anxiety
• Like physical clutter, this list gives me mental clutter
• Don’t beat yourself up for tasks that don’t get completed in your set time frame.
• Pick your battles. If you have other family members that don’t seem as interested in completing tasks as you are, let some of the tiny one’s slide. I am definitely not suggesting that you allow other members of the household to do nothing
• Celebrate the small achievements that we make!!!
• Maybe, break To Do List’s down into smaller tasks such as most important down to least important. As everyone has differing priorities list these in an order that suits you
• My priorities would be; look at other health funds for my husband and I, update my filing system so I can run my business smoothly, set up a filing system for my husband and find a solicitor.

The rest of the items I will get to as I can and try not to allow myself to become overwhelmed.

I think my favourite task that I completed was our bookshelf!

The post What Did I Achieve During My Year Off? appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

Following are some easy steps to get started in taming the paper clutter in your home.

Get It All Together
Bring all the paper in your home to one place that you have designated to be your sorting station.
Establish four piles; to be recycled, to be filed, to be actioned and to be scanned.
Start sorting through each piece of paper and place in the applicable pile

Minimising the Incoming Paper
Nearly all banks and utility providers provide their statements and bills online. This saves a lot of paper coming into your home. The online process may not suit everyone. I, myself, am still a pen and paper kind of girl. As long as you have an organised spot for these items, in a filing cabinet or folder, that’s ok as well. Your management of paper needs to be a system that suits you.

Shred
If you have a lot of personal correspondence and you are worried about identity fraud, a small shredding machine is a great option. These are readily available and a cost-efficient solution. Shred-X provide a number of on-site solutions if you have large amounts to be shredded.

Recycle
Most of your papers can safely be disposed of in your recycling bin on a weekly basis. Have a collection point near a door closest to your recycling bin. Just empty when it becomes full. It doesn’t have to be an ugly plastic bin. A beautiful rattan basket or similar is just as practical.

Scan
Scan what you can. Not every piece of paper needs to be kept in hard copy form.

Magazines/Newspapers
Cancel any subscriptions you have for magazines or newspapers that you currently receive and do not read. Everything can now be found online.

Children’s Artwork
I make a special note of these items because I am asked so often “what should I do with all the kid’s artwork?”.

If you have young children in daycare or at school you will know what I am talking about.

I suggest first, take photos of the artwork that enters your home. At the end of each school year go online and find a site for photobooks. Along with the artwork add some of your favourite photos from the year, school photo etc. These can make great gifts for family members at Christmas.

Get a few of those really special items framed. Put them up on a wall and enjoy them. Pieces of artwork that are filed away very rarely get looked at again.

Creating A Filing System
There are always going to be some papers that need to be kept for a period of time. These are best kept in a filing cabinet or folders e.g. insurance papers, superannuation info, tax etc.

The most common of these is listed below. Of course, everyone is going to need additional files. Make these to suit your family.

Banking

• savings account statements
• transaction account statements
• mortgage papers and statements
• personal loan papers and statements
• credit card statements

Bills Paid

• mobile phones
• home phone/internet
• water
• electricity/gas
• council rates

Insurances

• health insurance
• car insurance
• home and contents insurance
• life insurance

Investments

• One folder for each investment

Pets

• One folder per pet

Superannuation

• One folder per person

Tax

• Current tax year (receipts, etc)
• Five previous years (tax returns, letters, etc)

Health

• One folder per person

School

• One folder per child

Warranties

Keeping It Organised
Once you have conquered the existing paper clutter in your home, establish a collection location where ALL future incoming paper is placed. Find a spot that is close to where you deal with your paperwork, eg on the kitchen bench, in your home office

In general, I keep papers by financial year. These can include bills, bank statements, insurance policies. Keeping it by financial year I know that every July I need to review and remove papers no longer needed.

Set A Time
Start a new habit and set a time aside each day to deal with your paperwork. Taking the time to shred, recycle and file on a daily basis. This will reduce the build-up that can occur very quickly.

Overwhelmed yet?
Sorting and organising your paperwork may seem extremely overwhelming. Keep the elephant in mind.

“How would you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time”

The post Tackling Paper Clutter appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

Our lives are so fast paced now, sometimes just the smallest event can disrupt our whole routine.  Sometimes for an hour or two, a week, or in my case, a couple of months. .  . nearly six to be exact.

Occasionally my health requires that I take a step back and re-charge my batteries.  This normally two week break took nine.  Medication changes etc. slowed everything down.

We also had renovations planned to begin in mid to late January. My beautiful husband decided that we should escape for the Christmas period to have a nice break before the chaos of the 2016 and the renos started.  Hawaii was beautiful.  Ten days visiting various islands, lying on beaches, being waited on hand and foot and forgetting everything else.  Bliss! We returned in time for New Year and spent an extremely quiet evening at home.

As our renovations planned were for the upstairs of our home and the laundry and powder room downstairs, we needed to have everything packed into boxes and placed downstairs in the lounge, dining and rumpus room areas.  During this process I came to the dreadful realisation that we actually have waaayyy too much stuff.  Even though it was sorted and organised the reality was quite a shock.  The plan was to do a complete clean-out prior to packing.

A week into packing we got a visit at home from our very distressed 27 year old daughter.  The relationship she was in had crumbled and so the chaos ensued.  It appeared that to make a completely clean break she would need to move out of her home. Without going into all the details, we suddenly had another three bedroom house to pack up.  Our daughter ended up needing some respite herself and so the task was left to Mum and Dad.  Although a small home, our daughter certainly had a lot of things.

Her home is now packed and the contents fill up our garage.  Just an exit-rental clean to organise and the lease can be finished. This all delayed my husband and I finishing the packing up of our home.

Added to this, both my husband and myself had returned to work.  My clients, so far this year, have been real estate jobs. Getting their homes de-cluttered and styled to go on the market for sale.  This all means of course . . . more packing.

Back to our reno, with no bathrooms or a functioning laundry, we also needed to find alternative accommodation.  Enter our beautiful friends who have allowed us to take their guest room with our younger daughter now happily living in their caravan under the car port.  I will mention that she is in 7th Heaven having her own space.  With our friends only having one bathroom we thought we would hire a portable ensuite so we didn’t completely invade their space.  It’s fantastic!  A shower, vanity and toilet.  When Googling “mobile bathroom” I didn’t expect to find anything.  I had no idea that such a thing existed.  For any of you wanting to renovate your bathrooms, this makes a great and cheaper alternative to moving out.

So now we finally find ourselves relatively caught up with everything.  I have taken this week of to recover from all the madness.

A lot of people, and clients that I meet comment that “Oh, your home must be so organised and tidy”.  I wanted you all to know that even I can fall into the trap of becoming unorganised, chaotic and be in the possession of too much “stuff”.  Just one little event can cause things to unravel quickly and one day you find yourself barely keeping your head above water.  My plan for when the renovations are finished and we return home I am going to take baby steps and follow the advice that I give clients.  Just one day at a time, one box at a time to restoring order and calm in my home.

The post What happened for me to become so unorganised? appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

1. It gets cold outside!

2. It gets wet outside!

3. It gets cold and wet outside!

A fourth reason has just struck me. Spring! Spring is my favourite season of the year. The sun is shining war

mer, the air has a beautiful crispness, all the gorgeous new baby animals, planting season veges and flowers, excercising outdoors and my favourite, the growing opportunities to spend time on

the water and on the beach. Still too cold for swimming, but water and the beach seems to be what I need when feeling a little overwhelmed or lost. It is incredibly grounding.

I have talked about Spring Cleaning before, but maybe this whole Autumn/Winter Cleaning is a better alternative and might take off. So get moving, and get organised. Who knows? It may be what you need to warm you up!

The post Welcome The Cooler Months appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

With a few variations along the way, it is mostly agreed that the saying “Murphy’s Law” (“If anything can go wrong, it will”) was born at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 at North Base.

It was named after Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981, (a project) designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash.

One day, after finding that a transducer was wired incorrectly, he cursed the technician responsible and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”

The contractor’s project manager kept a list of “laws” and added this one, which he called Murphy’s Law. Source: www.murphys-laws.com

And so I have found that Murphy’s Law can affect my seasonal closet organisation.  I run on a fairly minimal amount of clothes anyway, but with lack of hanging space, I pack up all my out of season clothes and store them away. With the weather patterns becoming stranger and stranger each year this is beginning to become a problem for me. This would have to be one of my biggest issues with the newer built homes.  To save money, builders place one hanging rail in a closet.  I’m not an expert on closet design but this is obviously not functional.

The beginning of Spring last year we had an unusual run of extremely hot days.  I thought it would be safe to pack all my winter things away.  Blow me down if the following two days aren’t cold, windy and rainy. There it is, Murphy’s Law.  My solution in the end was to leave a minimal amount of winter clothes, including one coat, in an easy to access place in my closet.

Last week, after more crazy weather I called in Sally of the Clever Closet Company (www.cleverclosetcompany.com.au) to see if anymore functional space could be added to my wardrobe.

“Too much air” in my closet, Sally advises.  This being space that is completely useless with absolutely no function.  I’m waiting with baited breath to see the designs that Sally comes up with.  I have now decided to have all the closets in our home made more functional and practical.  Everyone has different needs in their closet (I won’t mention my addiction to handbags and need for them to be easy to access) so why not have a closet designed specifically for your own needs.

Hopefully Murphy’s Law won’t affect my wardrobe organisation anymore.  I may have to investigate Howe’s Law – “Every many has a scheme that will not work”, Obviously my plan with packing away my out of season clothes, and Jenning’s Corollary, “The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side up is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet”.  I will keep this in mind with our upcoming renovations as well.

No “air” in this closet, but
obviously not functioning!

The post Take two . . . Murphy’s Law appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

Maybe . . .

*  Get organised . . . of course you did!
*  Give up smoking . . . a very common choice?
*  Spend more time with family and friends . . . more relax time!
*  Get out of debt, save more money . . . it’s a tough one in today’s economic climate!
*  Loose weight and get fit . . . yep, made this one over the years!
*  Travel somewhere new . . . me, I’d love to be travelling six months of the year if I could!

This year I did not make one Resolution, NOT one!  “Why”? you may ask.

Let’s look at the above statements.  They are one short sentence, a very rigid statement that allows for no flexibility or change.  For all of us life happens and we can’t avoid that.  We need to learn how to role with the punches, good or bad.  Let our new plans for the year revolve around life events.  I definitely don’t like to feel like I have failed, or not achieved what I set out to do.  It can lead to negative thoughts, which can lead to more negative feelings.  Ugh!

So for this year, I have chosen a word.  SIMPLIFY!  I’m going to break things down. Smaller steps at a time.  I’m the kind of person that wants things to happen immediately.  I don’t like to take a break from one task before starting the next.  It has to be perfect!  And this is where I fall down.

Let’s look at the above statements and simplify!

Get organised:  start small.  Look at the junk drawer . . . every home has one!  Empty one shelf in your closet, throw out or donate the clothes you don’t wear.  Grab a basket and put all the items that don’t belong in one room in the basket and take them to the room where they do belong.  They don’t have to go exactly where they belong, just in the room.

Give up smoking:  this is a toughie!  I know, I’ve done it!  It took about five or six different attempts. Think about if you are really, truly ready to give up smoking.  If yes, look at the different resources available to assist you in your journey, explain to family and friends what your are trying to do and would really appreciate their support. And most importantly, don’t make this resolution on a whim, or because people are trying to talk you into it.  Be honest with yourself.

Spend more time with family and friends: phone your friend.  I don’t like Facebook or text messaging.  It’s a little impersonal.  Put a time in the diary. Lock it away and stick to it.  Unless absolutely life threatening, don’t change the plans.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed, and neither will your friend. There’s nothing better than spending time with a catching up for a coffee and chat.

Get out of debt: again not an easy one.  Trying to develop a family budget is difficult.  Save yourself the stress and possible miscalculations and employ an accountant to look after all the figures.  This can give you a weekly budget and you know exactly where all your money is going.

Loose weight and get fit:  This runs along the lines of wanting to give up smoking.  Are you ready to make the commitment? Are you doing it to please other people?  Find an exercise buddy, whether a friend to walk with, join the gym or find a personal trainer.

Travel somewhere new:  A friend and I was recently discussing my love of travel and all the places I have on my bucket list.  He said to me “Have it in your Bucket List but again, cross off time in your calendar”.  He explained that this action makes it more real and gives you a timeline to work towards for booking tickets, saving spending money, finding carers for the kids, or pets and takes the stress out of all the things that need to be thought about.  My friend must be right.  He and his wife travel to far and exotic places regularly.

Break it down.  Now for all of you who are struggling with your New Year Resolutions, take a step back and SIMPLIFY!!

The post New Year’s Resolutions . . . Not Me!! appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.

Sophie sends me some suggested topics, asks me to be there an hour before appearing to have my hair and make-up done, and will send a car to pick me up! Crazy! I tell my husband Dean that we don’t really need a car and that we can drive ourselves.  He makes the point that I may never have this opportunity again, and why not make the most of it, have fun, and let them send the car.  I’m glad he did.  From the minute we got in the car, the excitement of what was to unfold was overwhelming. For once the traffic Gods were kind to us on the M2 and we arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  Prue, who looks after all the guests, meets Dean and I in reception, and takes me straight to hair and make-up.  The station is like a rabbit warren.  Stairs and hallways everywhere.  Hair first.  Everyone makes you feel comfortable and asks what I’m going to be talking about.  Off to make-up!  The make-up artists are discussing how everyone’s make-up is spread everywhere and causing clutter.  The girls immediately says “so what are you talking about on the show this morning?”.  I reply, “Strangely enough I’m here to discuss de-cluttering and organising”.  I’m feeling more at ease all the time. I think of my daughter Georgia, who is a Make-Up Artist.  She would have been in absolute Heaven.

When make-up is finally done, we are taken to the Green Room to wait until we are called.  I chat to a lovely lady, also her first time on TV, named Chris Burke.  Chris has climbed 8 of the highest mountains in the world, including Everest. An absolutely amazing woman who wants to empower young women and girls to achieve their goals.  I wish we had more time to chat.  We were both interested in each others story.

Prue reappears and says it is time to get on set.  Sophie, the Producer, is there to meet me and have a quick chat to go over what is going to be discussed.  They have run over-time so the slot is shorter, but for a first-timer that was fine for me.  I’m introduced to the hosts, Tim & Alicia, who are also wonderful and I feel completely calm.  I’m glad to see that there is no live audience.  The senior producer counts us down, “and in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” . . . and we are on!!!

 Hair – still looking a little bit nervous!                                                            Make-Up – Feeling more relaxed

http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/today/videos/3983003663001/

The post The Today Show! appeared first on Decluttering services sydney; declutter home or home office.