That's Neat! Blog

Can small changes in your life really make you happier? After reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, I believe the answer is yes!

For one year, Rubin sets out to read all she can about what makes people happy, and then test out several of the ideas as changes in her own life. Each month her changes focus on a theme, like friendship, work or marriage.

In January, the first month of her project, Rubin focuses on ways to boost her energy, and her changes include going to sleep earlier and exercising better. But she also adds organizing to her Jan plan…getting rid of the clutter that accumulated in the corners of her apartment, and also taking care of some long-overdue tasks.

Rubin guesses that creating “outer order…would bring inner peace” (p. 18) and that completing a nagging task would help clear her mental clutter. At the end of the January, after Rubin has cleared her clutter and To Do List, she shares, “I was astonished by the change of energy and satisfaction I got from creating order” (p. 37).

I love how she connects the idea of organizing to getting more energy. I’ve found the same to be true: crossing a critical project off my list or creating order out of chaos does create positive energy, and I tend to feel happier.

Can you use a new burst of energy in your life? Try 10 minutes a day of de-cluttering and tackling that nagging task and see how you feel.

For more on The Happiness Project, including online tools to start your own project, check out Gretchen Rubin’s blog.

Bags are an excellent and inexpensive organizing tool:

• Use different bags to designate different activities; for example, my daughter has a school backpack, ballet bag, ice skating bag, and swim bag.

• Bags can also help in other ways. We have a bag with stickers, paper, and small toys and games that we take in the car for short trips (when the DVD player seems like too much). I add things to this special "car bag" at random times so that when it comes out it holds some surprises. (This could be a good use for those small plastic toys from restaurants and birthday parties that seem to multiple in kids' rooms.)

• Many families keep a bag just for library books.

How do you use bags in your home? Be sure to label the bags or use different colors/designs to quickly tell them apart. Then you can grab and go!

This was first published in The Neat Sheet newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here.

We hear a lot these days about “getting organized”. I saw the topic on many New Year’s resolution lists in January. It’s true, once you get yourself organized you quickly realize how much smoother your entire life runs.

However, I’ve seen the other end too – believe it or not, too organized! So much so that it makes it difficult to actually “live” in a home comfortably.

I think at one time, I fell into that category: a place for everything, everything in it’s place “QUICKLY” kind of approach worked best for me. But for my family? Maybe not so much.

For example, my daughter would come through the back door from a day at school, kick off her shoes, dump her backpack, lunch, etc. and be so excited to tell me about her day. I would listen (sort of) while whisking shoes into a bin, hanging up her backpack and cleaning out her lunch bag all in record time. In a flash, I had it done and would move onto my next task – usually dinner.

Fortunately, it occurred to me one day (hopefully not too late) that I was wasting valuable face time with her. I realized I was missing out on the big stuff – the important stuff - the stuff that really mattered.

We live in a relatively small home – a little less than 1900 sq.ft. and while it is ample space for three of us, in no time it can feel messy and disorganized if things don’t quickly migrate to their ‘homes’.

But how quick is to quick? Seconds from landing is probably too quick.

My solution: I learned to get things in order before I turned in for the night. I’d spend a few minutes, usually not more than 20 or 30, picking up, looking over schoolwork, making lunches, etc. Things were quieter then too and I found the time less stressful and even enjoyable. I knew that when I got up the next morning, things were organized and I could go about getting my day started quickly and easily.

Whether it’s getting your paperwork in order, getting your kids out the door in the mornings, grocery shopping, getting dinner on the table or cleaning up your house, take a step back and remember to actually “live” in your home. Your family will love you for it too.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

This month, enjoy time with your valentine…but why not also spend a little time getting organized for tax day on April 15th?

Preparing for taxes doesn’t have to be complicated, and often the simplest systems are the easiest to maintain. So this month, don’t forget another kind of KISS = Keep It Super Simple. Here are some KISS tips to help you organized before tax day:

• Gather all the tax documents arriving in your mail, like W-2s, bank and mortgage interest statements, into one folder. Keep the folder near where you open the mail and as soon as you get these important tax documents, drop them in.

• Collect all your receipts that may be used for deductions. I keep my personal deductions in a section of an accordion folder with my bills. I keep business deductions in a separate envelope in my office file cabinet. I have one client who uses clear plastic bags to organize her receipts, both personal and business. Throughout the year she finds a receipt, and puts it in the bag. It’s super simple, and it works!

• If you have to do the same preparation process for taxes each year, make a list of the steps. After several years of preparing my business taxes for my accountant, last year I finally made a checklist of what documents I needed to gather, what calculations I needed for my home office deductions, etc.  I know that using my checklist will save me time this year.

January is National Get Organized month….but I’ll bet you have something that needs to be taken care of every month of the year. By splitting the year into quarters, you can rest assured that you will make every monthly deadline and do it with ease.

For the past 15 years I have made the bulk of my living as a photostylist and producer for catalogs, magazines and advertising campaigns. So come January I’m actually thinking April, May and June. By Valentine’s Day I’ll be gearing up for July and summer-themed shoots. Come spring, I’m working on the holidays and spend most of my summer thinking ‘Winter Wonderland’ and by fall, it’s spring colors and ideas that cover my desk. The sheer nature of the business requires not only lots of organization and coordination, it requires me to think at least 3 or 6 months or even a whole year ahead!

So, years ago I started to organize not only my work calendar this way but also my personal one. By thinking ahead to what needs to be done at least three months ahead assures me that I will be prepared.

Starting in January I’m thinking about the second quarter of the year, April, May and June. The big item for all of us is taxes! So, right after I’ve wrapped and stowed the last of the ornaments, I’m up to the office with that April 15 deadline at the top of my “to do” list.

Here’s how I begin to organize my year:  I start with the givens and put them at the top of my monthly list. Next, I add things that I want to accomplish by the end of every month, along with family obligations, vacations etc. And, like you I have my daily schedule. As a freelancer, it changes a lot so being flexible and prioritizing is key.

For example:

QUARTER 1:

January = April EASTER (4^th), TAXES (15^th)

• Organize, file and prepare for tax season
• Plus:
• Organize linen closet
• Clean out clothes closet
• Look for gifts for April birthdays (2)

February = May MOTHER’S DAY(9^th), MEMORIAL DAY (31^st)

• Find Mother’s Day gifts (3)
• Plus:
• Valentine’s Day dinner
• President’s Day Weekend
• Clean and organize kitchen pantry
• Buy May birthday cards/gifts (2)

March = June FATHER’S DAY (20^th)

• Find Father’s Day gift
• Plus:
• Spring cleaning/ kitchen
• Buy June birthday gifts and cards (3)

QUARTER 2:

April = July INDEPENDENCE DAY

• Plus:
• 3 family birthdays (buy gifts)
• Clean and reorganize garage
• Garden clean-up

May = August BEACH VACATION!

• Make reservations
• Plus:
• 1 birthday (look for gift)
• Pick up daughter from college
• Plant containers and window boxes

June = September ANNUAL LABOR DAY RODEO

• Make reservations/buy tickets
• Plus:
• 2 birthdays (buy gifts)
• Garden!

You get the picture by now I’m sure. I’ll also add these items to accomplish monthly to my third and fourth quarters;

July: Think about back to school

August: Decide on and organize holiday make ahead gifts

September: Garden clean-up, organize shed

October: Organize for the upcoming holidays

November: Finish holiday shopping, work on cards

December:

• Week 1: Assemble “quick gifts”
• Week 2: Mail gifts and cards
• Weeks 3 – 4: Sit back, relax and enjoy

 All too soon another year will be gone. If you adapt a quarterly calendar system and organize month-to-month by this time next year none of your “to-do” list will be undone.