My sister is doing a major re-organizing of her house. I wish I lived close by so I could help, but she is doing great on her own! She is blogging about her progress. I was posting a comment about her progress and giving "just a few little suggestions" so I thought I better stop and do it here on MY blog!

Here is what I wrote to her:

The kitchen is always the slowest to organize. One reason is because we accumlate so many things in the kitchen we really don't need. (Remember Steve's FIVE whisks?) My sister knew this story, but of course you don't... When my husband and I got married, he had five whisks in his kitchen. He hardly, if ever, cooks! Why in the world did he need five whisks?

Another reason is because it is the heart of our homes...it get used a lot for lots of reasons so it tends to get accumulate lots of clutter. Make the kitchen about cooking and preparing meals. Move your paperwork, your desk, your business (yes, I know someone that keeps their business inventory in the kitchen) to another part of the house, if at all possible.

One way to think about the kitchen when organizing it is to create boundaries by making the stuff fit the kitchen storage space instead of trying to make the storage space fit the stuff. For example, if you only have room in your utensil drawer for two spatulas, get rid of the other 10 instead of trying to cram them in the space.

Use drawer dividers and storage containers to create a "home" for the items in your kitchen. Look back at one of the earliest posts on this blog and you'll see some pictures of what I mean.

Getting Organized for Weight Management

I released 42 pounds in five months and have kept it off for over a year now. People still ask me how I did it, so I wanted to give you some tips on organizing your weight management.
1. Change your thinking. Instead of thinking about losing weight, think about releasing weight. Losing something implies that it is only misplaced and will eventually be found. But, when you release something, you let it go.
2. Organize your kitchen. Clean out the cabinets and the fridge. Get rid of the stash of candy, the sugary cereal, the refined foods, the high fat cheese, the cookies, the crackers, etc. If it is not there, you can’t eat it. An example of this for me is crackers. I love crackers…any kind of crackers. I can’t eat just a few. I don’t stop until I have eaten half the box. So, I just don’t buy crackers….problem solved.
3. Stock the pantry. Stock the pantry with whole grain pastas (spelt pasta or brown rice pasta are my favorites and the closest in taste to the refined kind we all grew up on). Stock up on dried or canned beans and fruit (choose fruits without sugar) for those times when you are too rushed or tired to cook. Stock up on some healthy snacks for those times you just have to have an extra snack. I keep light popcorn, various soups and Cheerios on hand for those occasions.
4. Plan your meals. Leaving your meals to chance helped contribute to the extra pounds. Plan ahead, do your grocery shopping, and cook ahead on the weekend, if you don’t have time to cook during the week. For example, I have been very busy this week, so I made a big pot of brown rice spaghetti, a healthy spaghetti sauce, a turkey breast in the crockpot and cut up a big container of salad. We have had plenty to eat all week without cooking. (I’m heating up a plate of that spaghetti as soon as I finish this article!)
5. Schedule your weight releasing activities. Whether it be a book to read about weight release, a tape to listen to, seeing a therapist about emotional eating, or especially exercise, schedule those activities into your day. Make them a priority and don’t skip!
6. Quit making excuses. Cut out the excuses for your weight woes. You know the ones I am talking about…
“I don’t have time to exercise every day!”
“I am too busy to cook and plan my meals.”
“My mother made me clean my plate so it is her fault.”
“I have to keep refined foods in the house for my spouse and/or children.”
“My parents were overweight so my problem is genetics.”
You have a choice as to what you eat and how much you exercise. Excuses don’t accomplish getting rid of your household/office clutter or getting rid of your body clutter. Eating healthy and exercise do. That is how I accomplished it and so can you.

Time, Money & Energy

Time: If you want to have enough time for the important things in life, you have two choices:

1. Use your time more efficiently.
2. Decrease the activities in your life that require the use of your time.

Energy: If you have adequate energy, you have two options:

1. Increase the activities that generate energy for you
2. Decrease the activities that drain your energy.

Money: If you want to have an adequate supply of money, you have two alternatives:

1. Make more money
2. Decrease things in your life that require money

5 Ideas to Help You Remember

1. Believe in Yourself. If you keep saying you have a bad memory, then most likely you will have a bad memory. Motivate yourself by having an I CAN remember attitude.

2. Write it down. I say this over and over, but we all have way too much to remember to fill our heads with trivial matters. Write them down and clear the brain for the important stuff.

3. Record yourself. Sometimes you have a thought and want to remember it, but writing it down isn't possible (like when driving). Use a little tape recorder to record your thoughts, your parking space number or a phone number you see advertised while driving. Check your cell phone. Many of them have a video feature that will record your voice.

4. Call yourself. If you are at the office and want to do something when you arrive home, call your answering machine and leave yourself a message.

5. Set timers and alarms. Keep yourself on task by setting a timer or alarm for how long you want to work on the project. Need to leave at a certain time for an appointment? Set an alarm for a few minutes before to remind you it is time to go.

Lesson Learned!

Even us organized types mess up sometimes. Last week I went to my filing cabinet and got out my auto policy. The file was right where it should be, in the personal files, in a hanging folder labeled insurance with the file folder labeled with the car information. So far, so good.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband was driving north on the interstate to pick me up at the airport. The car was hit by a rock and it chipped the windshield. I was checking the policy to see what our coverage was for that.

I didn't find the info I needed on the policy to answer my question, so I put the file folder in my inbox to email our insurance agent. I got busy with other things and didn't do the task that day.

Today, I finally got around to emailing our agent. I completely forgot that I had pulled out the folder and spent a good five minutes looking to see if I had misfiled that file, before remembering I had taken it out of its home.

If I had just left it in its home and put the task on my list of to-dos like I normally would, there would have been no problem and I would not have wasted time.

Oh well, I am human...