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Labor Day Weekend’s Long Goodbye; A.K.A The Wake-Up Call

08/28/2013 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

IMG_1273_optLabor Day weekend punctuates more than just the final days of summer. Sometimes the end of summer feels more like the end of an entire calendar year than it does the end of a season. Why do you think that is?

It’s probably because this forward transition entails more extreme changes in our schedules, routines, activities, and weather.  For those of us that don’t have summer all year round, we feel the marked differences more acutely. Summertime seems to convey a more relaxed vibe and so our schedules generally reflect that. Even businesses implement summer Friday privileges with casual attire, half-days, or more days off. We all feel more laid back as we frolic in the easy breezy days of summer. The pace seems slower and life feels good.

Understandably, when it ends, it feels abrupt and wakes us up. Maybe that’s a good thing.

Reality bites. Fall is encroaching, you can go kicking and screaming but it’s still going to happen regardless. Some of us transition with a great more resistance and reluctance (I confess, that would be me), while others welcome the return of a routine. But a balanced life is all about adjustments and change, and so we must learn to adapt.

Mindful acceptance is crucial in order to regroup and transition without getting stuck. Flow with the change and propel yourself forward. It’s yet another summer that has passed us by and it will soon be time to put away the beach chairs, coolers, and summer toys. Deflate the pool rafts, not your soulful spirit. These rituals are just reminders that it’s time embrace change. Look at it as a good thing. The end of a season stops you in your tracks and forces you to check in with yourself.  It begs the question, what’s next?

Remember that endings are also beginnings; the end of one thing is just the beginning of something else.  It’s OK to make Labor Day the longest goodbye ever to a fabulous summer, so join me in bidding it farewell. It was fun while it lasted but it is time to move on.  Adieu 2013…See you next year 2014.

Together, let’s embrace the next season with new opportunities and possibilities. Do you know what your “next” looks like yet?

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Order in the House Please: The Instigator for Real Change

08/22/2013 By Nancy Borg With 7 comments

2171215733_optExactly, when do you hit the wall? Yes, at one time or another, we all reach our own breaking point, and it is precisely then, that we realize we’ve had enough of a situation. This is the perfect moment in time that we have an opportunity to change our behavior.

Pay attention my friends, there are glaring signals.

Maybe you’re sick and tired of repeatedly losing your phone or misplacing your keys and glasses.

Or, perhaps it’s when you’ve missed an important doctor’s appointment or a business conference call because you never wrote it down, you forgot. There’s more…You never had time to pick up the dry cleaning, you double-booked your dinner plans with friends, and you can’t find your checkbook.  You’re angry at yourself and probably a little embarrassed and ashamed of being so lax and disorganized.

Or worse,  you often incur financial penalties because you bounced a check, or failed to pay a bill on time, again.

Or worse still, your disorganization caused your child to suffer.  He/she may have been excluded from joining a sports team or a school trip, because you missed the registration deadline or neglected to sign the proper forms.

Just maybe… that could be the last straw.  Enough is enough.

Does this sound like you?

The good news is that the breaking point is usually the best instigator for change. It wears you down both mentally and physically. But each of us have our own threshold for the zero hour and individual perspectives of when a situation is critical. Some of us react to our inner alert sooner than later, while others might delay until they are already in a full-blown crisis mode. The scenario might look something like this;

  • Most countertops are cluttered with miscellaneous items that belong elsewhere.
  • Neglected incoming mail has accumulated to overwhelming paper piles.
  • Spare bedrooms have turned into a dumping ground for anything you don’t know what to do with.
  • Stepping over both dirty and clean laundry piles everywhere.
  • Passing by puddles of stuff on the steps that are awaiting their eventual journey upstairs.
  • Tripping over shoes and sandals in random places, some without their sole-mates.
  • Gathering half-drunk water bottles, unfinished snacks, and empty bowls in high traffic areas.

 

The bottom line is when “busy” integrates with “later, ” chaos ensues rather quickly.  Life only works, until it doesn’t, and no one can make you care about what you don’t care about it. It’s that simple. When you hit the wall, you will know. It will be abundantly clear.  When you’re ready, you’re simply ready.

But just recognizing the symptoms and acknowledging that you’ve had enough, may not be sufficient.  If you are a self-motivated person, your desperation will probably fuel you to take action and implement change.  

But if you need support and more motivation, don’t beat yourself up for it.

Enlist help from a trained professional who can provide the steps to help you organize and gain back some control.  Going it alone may be ineffective.

Make no mistake about it, restoring order in the house is much more about life-balance than it is about merely organizing your possessions. Sometimes situations need to get worse before they can get better. Reverse the cycle; break down only to reconstruct. Convert the breaking point into positive change. Take it as an opportunity to begin anew with better and more sustainable systems.  You will not only see a physical change but feel a significant emotional one as well.

So when is your “enough?” What steps will you need to take to affect positive change?   Reach out and get the support you need.

 

 

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On Moving & Downsizing; Guest Expert Moreen Torpy

08/19/2013 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

Family MovingI’m so excited to welcome Moreen Torpy today to talk about the essential tips to consider prior to moving, and some simple steps that can help reduce the overwhelming process. Moreen is the De-Clutter Coach, a trained Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker and expert in Moving and Downsizing. For more info visit her website here, http://www.decluttercoach.ca.

Thanks Moreen for sharing your expertise with all my readers!

 

Moving Takes Planning and Preparation

When we think about moving, the first thing that comes to mind is the packing. Of course, there are plenty of other considerations as well. Here’s a handy list of 9 things to remember to cover as many areas as possible.

1. Allow plenty of time to move. If you can possibly allow eight weeks, you will be able to accomplish everything you need to do.

2. When will your new place be available? If you’re purchasing a home or condo, you can plan for the closing date. However if you’re moving into a care facility, you may have only a couple of days in which to get there or lose the placement.

3. Can you obtain the floor plan for your new place? Using this, plan furniture placement before moving so that the heavy pieces can be placed by the movers. This will eliminate your trying to lift heavy pieces and risk injury to yourself.

4. Book the mover or recruit a team and van. At one point in life, we can’t do all the lifting and carrying ourselves. Get estimates from three companies and ensure they provide this in writing, addressing the same questions, so you can compare and select the one best suited to your situation. Also ensure the company you hire has insurance for any damage that may occur during the move caused by the movers. Get this in writing to protect yourself.

5. Purge anything you can before moving. This is your opportunity to pass along family heirlooms, downsize your wardrobe, sell furniture or household items that won’t be moving with you. Remember that movers charge by time, weight and distance. For a local move, the Time consideration is crucial. The longer it takes to load and unload anything you don’t need will increase your cost.

6. Assemble packing materials—boxes, paper, bubble wrap etc. If such a service exists in your area, rent moving boxes. These are plastic flip-top bins that are delivered to your home a few days before your moving date and picked up at the other end a few days later. Typically you pay for the number of days you have the bins in your possession. If you use cardboard boxes, either scrounge them from stores or purchase them. Stores have less incentive to give the boxes away these days as they can recoup some of their costs by selling them to recyclers. As for packing paper, use unprinted newsprint so the printing ink won’t get on your hands and precious possessions. This paper can be purchased from some moving companies and local newspaper offices (end rolls). The latter is much cheaper if you have access to it. Bubble wrap is great for delicate breakables. It’s available from moving companies and some stationery stores.

7. Use plenty of paper and bubble wrap to ensure nothing is broken. After packing only the most important of your possessions, you won’t want anything to arrive at destination in pieces. Wrap each item well and stuff the spaces between the items with extra paper to ensure nothing moves in the box.

8. Label boxes with large numbers and the room they are to go into. For safety reasons never write the box contents on the outside. Keep that information in a Moving Log where you list all the box numbers and their contents. At destination, when you need a particular item, check your list for its location and go directly to that box. With the room names on the boxes, they can be placed in the appropriate rooms and save you having to sort them yourself.

9. Unpack, recycle boxes and paper—give away or blue box. Start unpacking the boxes in the rooms you need to set up first—kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom(s). Then work your way through the rest as you prioritize.

Moving doesn’t need to be the worst experience of your life. With organization and advance planning it can simply be another day in your life. The next chapter in which you can make new memories and enjoy new experiences.

How will you deal with your next move? Will you do anything different from what you did last time? What would that be?

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© 2013 Moreen Torpy We would be honored for you to reprint this article. If you do, please include the resource box below with the hyperlinks intact. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moreen Torpy is the De-Clutter Coach, a Trained Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker. Her new book is Going Forward: Downsizing, Moving and Settling In. See http://www.GoForwardDownsize.com for more about the book including where to purchase it, and http://www.decluttercoach.ca to learn about her organizing services and other books.

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P.S. To purchase Going Forward: Downsizing, Moving and Settling In, visit one of the quality booksellers here: http://www.goforwarddownsize.com/about-the-book/buy-the-book/

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