The Blog

Do You Love The Space You’re In?

09/29/2010 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

Take a look around.  Do you like what you see?  Do you feel good in the space?  Chances are, whether in your office, your bedroom, or any other room in your home, if you aren’t enjoying the space, if it’s not working for you,….. you won’t want to hang out in it.  It’s likely that it is fostering some bad energy.  If the once cozy den is now full of  assorted clutter, and an accumulated mess is crowding the couch,  how cozy can it really be?  If your bedroom closet is a disastrous mess, it is probably very stressful to get dressed amongst the chaos and find what you’re looking for in a hurry.  It’s not only costing you time, it could potentially lead to a fashion ensemble nightmare of epic proportions.  Ditto to the kitchen.   If your kitchen space is not working for you, you probably won’t ENJOY cooking in it, and I would venture to guess that there won’t be great sensational entrees coming out of there.   The home-office is no different.  If the work space is not efficient, you will not be as organized as you could be.  If there is a clog in the work flow system, it will impede on your productivity, for sure.

So make your spaces work for you, and design it so you can enjoy it with the optimum functionality.  Love the space you’re in.

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The Junk Drawer Epidemic

09/22/2010 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

You are not alone.  Don’t beat yourself up for having a  junk drawer….everybody has one.  But fess up, how many do you actually have?  You know that drawer.  It’s the infamous miscellaneous drawer filled with random stuff.  It’s the drawer you throw everything into that doesn’t have its own exclusive landing place in your home.  It might be where you keep your collection of pens, batteries, flashlights, spare keys, matches, instruction manuals, bills, receipts, etc..

No doubt, there are endless categories but the problem is…there is not endless space. 

It happens so innocently, doesn’t it? When a drawer gets overly cluttered and barely closes, you just start shoving new things into other drawers.  And before you know it, like creeping crud, the junk is spreading like wildfire into multiple drawers!  Your intentions were good  initially, I’m sure.  You probably started out monitoring the junk drawer, but eventually it is mysteriously invaded by random loose change, crumpled post-it notes with scribbled phone #’s on them, newspaper clippings, coupons, phone chargers,  tylenol, and all sorts of new junk. You can’t help yourself, it seems unavoidable.

I know life is hectic and it’s much easier to just tuck the clutter away inside a drawer so that everything “appears” neat on the outside.

Bottom line is that you’re often opening too many drawers, digging through all the clutter,  and can’t find anything you need, when you need it. The perfect storm…this would be the time to organize, sort the junk and consolidate items into like categories and get some control back.  Create designated spaces for items that need to be accessible. No need to tangle your rubber bands with band-aids, paper clips, or old pieces of chewing gum. If you sort like with like items, you will be able to organize accordingly.  Separate office supplies, store receipts together, keep all sunglasses together with their cases, and create a segregated space for medications.

Stay on top of that drawer and weed often.  Don’t let the junk takeover.  If you let it, it can potentially live in every drawer.  Uh-oh, T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

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The Perfect Organized Cook May Only Exist On Reality TV

09/16/2010 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

I don’t know about you, but I’m a messy cook.  Truth be told, I am organized, in theory, but Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray have got it over me, hands down.  They are fortunate to have a team of helping  hands behind the scenes to prepare and pre-measure all the ingredients, perfectly chopped and arranged in pretty little uniform bowls all ready to go.  I, on the other hand, am grabbing ingredients, chopping as I go, adding additional seasoning as I deem necessary, and sample tasting everything throughout the entire process.  A little of this, a little more of that.  My mother always told me that a cook tastes his/her meal at least 3 times before it gets served. Think about it:  First, you need to mentally prepare and organize the planning of the menu in your head, making sure you have all the necessary ingredients.  It’s like you can almost taste it in your head. Secondly, while you are actual doing the cooking,  you continually sneak multiple spoon size tastings to ensure that the flavors are syncing, and lastly, when you finally sit down and eat the actual meal, you are tasting it once again.  Are you even still hungry?

So while preparedness is essential in cooking and an integral part of the organization of the meal, cleaning the pots, pans, utensils, and as I go, is still something to strive for. I’m more concerned in getting the food plated properly and less interested in keeping up with the cluttered and messy counter top, and coordinating that everything is coming out hot and on time.  Hence, at the end of the meal,  I’m left with an impressive mess to deal with, but it works for me.  I am content with cleaning up and rinsing dishes on a happy full belly and give a thorough cleanup my proper attention.  I work at my own pace.  There always seems to be a method to my madness.

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Are You Getting A Return On Your “Savings?”

09/13/2010 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

Nope, I’m not talking about the green stuff in the bank. I’m talking about the other stuff you are saving….the stuff you are holding onto because you can’t seem to let it go. If you are thinking about saving things that you might use one day, or holding onto clothing you might wear someday….think again.  Someone else can certainly benefit from it now, so let it go. If you are a parent and you’re thinking about saving stuff for your kids, thinking they might want it…think again. Generally speaking, (and I don’t mean to offend the exception to the rule), chances are great that your kid’s don’t want your old stuff, they have their own. Trust me, I’ve learned from personal experience, and I’m just passing on the sad truth. I too, have been guilty of  justifying hanging on to similar clutter.  So do yourself a favor, evaluate your savings. Are you enjoying them? Are you reaping great rewards from them? If your riches are sitting in a box on an inaccessible shelf somewhere, or buried in a drawer, or tucked away in a dusty attic, how valuable are they really? Save the stuff that brings you joy as you live your life today. Let go of the hobby that never sustained the passion and toss its stuff. Or better yet, while weeding through your life’s clutter, perhaps you will make a new discovery and be inspired to re-invest in the old dream. That would be a unique twist, don’t you think? Imagine converting clutter into liberation. Now that would be an immeasurable savings!

Either way, make realistic and attainable investments in your present self. Don’t save the old stuff unless the returns are great.

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Fall Wake-Up Call: “Fall” May Be Back, But Don’t “Fall Back!” Here’s How….

09/05/2010 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

OK, so September is shockingly here, or as most of us refer to it as, transition.  Apart from not knowing how we are suppose to dress or what kind of shoes to wear, (I’m already missing my flip flops) what does it really mean? Generally, it means we are morphing into a new season and each of us have our own way to adjust to the change.  For some of us, it might mean nothing more than merely throwing on a light jacket or a familiar sweatshirt.   But for some others,  it could be a wake-up call to start organizing the stuff we put off all summer.  The season is changing and perhaps, so should we.

The change in season is a natural motivator for evaluating what changes you might want to make in your daily life; what’s working for you and what is not.

Here’s just a couple ways to inspire:  How about putting away, (or throw away) the summer clothing you know you won’t need or wear until next summer? Take the time to store  the tanning lotions or throw away the ones that barely have anything left  in the tube.  Don’t just shove everything in a drawer.  Use a Ziploc and label so you can find them when you are looking for them next year, or for your next vacation.  Be ready, be smart.

Now is a great time to take a quick tour of your closet and evaluate what you wear and what you never will. Take an inventory of your stuff. That Fall sweater you saved from last year might look a little more ratty than you remembered.  Organize your closet by categories, so that you can see what you are missing.  Then, you can go shopping to add to your wardrobe without duplicating something you already have . Ditto to the shoes and boots.  If they can be salvaged, bring them to the shoe repair now, and not wait for the day you want and need  to wear them, and then freak out. Organizing also means preparedness for next season.

So, transition should not mean procrastinate until the snow day.  Make it an opportunity to take stock of yourself and your things.  It should  mean get going, get with the change, proceed forward, and MOVE THE MESS now!

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