Hi All! Food for thought. . . as I sat in the air conditioned theatre

yesterday watching -"Apollo 13", NAPO and all my fellow organizers came to

mind when this line appeared (paraphrased)-

<<We've got to find a way to make this fit into that and all we have to work

with is what's in this pile. Let's organize it!>>

Guess what? They did it !!! Simplifying works!

As always, {:-D

Charlsey Y. Schroyer, NAPO Member

Charlsey,

Wouldn't you love to hear some examples closer to earth <s> of how people have simplified their life or assisted in simplifying the life of clients? I know I would!

Paulette Ensign NAPO President

Paulette & Charlsey,

It's always rewarding for me when my clients tell me how much stress they've

overcome when they've learned to simplify...and I see it work time and time

again.

A client who had a *very* difficult time simplifying her home life and her

home office recently said to me "I didn't realize what you meant when you

said how great it would feel to start letting go of things...but you're right,

I feel wonderful." (what a nice comment!)

I really think simplifying feeds on itself. You learn to let go of a few things,

your load feels lighter, your stress goes down, hey that feels good, you learn

to let go of some more things....etc. I'm constantly learning to pare down

myself and every time I do, I feel better. What a concept.

These earthly (pun intended) posessions really can be a burden.

P.S. Charlsey, how was the rest of the movie? :)

Janet Parsons, NAPO member

Janet,

There's no question 'feeling good' is supremely important as a result of the letting go process we facilitate. It's also less expensive in every imaginable resource...time, money, energy...to simplify l life at home and at work!

Paulette Ensign NAPO President

Here is one for you. A couple of years back, a medical professional had hired me to help organize, fine tune and solve a few problems he was having in his medical office. As it was, he had grown by leaps and bounds and had added several other doctors to his staff. One problem his front desk was having was keeping and displaying each doctor's business card as they were really tight on space. Seems they never had the right card convenient and handy when they needed it. In trying to figure out a solution, I was telling my 9 year old- Avery about it on the way from school to swim practice. He said, "So what's the problem Mom? That's simple. Put all the Doctors names on the same card." !!! Now, why didn't I think of that!?! It not only solved the problem, but it reduced their cost of printing by over half. Now they always have the right card handy. So you see, SIMPLE really does work!

And yes, I did give Avery his consulting fee;) that particularly time he charged me a new UofK sweatshirt<BG>

As always, {:-D

Charlsey Y. Schroyer, NAPO Member

Charlsey,

I am frequently smilingly told by clients that they can't wait to see how organized I am after I have my first child....ahhhhh, a true challenge I'm looking forward to seeing how I do. And as primarily an office organizer, I find myself hungrily reading tips of residential professional organizers...especially those with tips on staying organized with children.

I remember once at a NAPO conference, I heard an organizer say that it's very eye- opening as an organizer to hire another organizer who specializes in a different area than you. Seems like a good idea to me. I'd be very curious to be organized by a professional myself. I'm certainly the first to realize the value of a professional! :)

(Although I'll probably give my dear ol' mom first crack!)

Tell Avery I enjoyed his *very* intelligent idea of putting allof the doctor's names onto one business card!

Janet Parsons, NAPO member

<<especially those with tips for staying organized with children>>

If you have any reading suggestions, I'd like to hear them.....

I am slowly recovering from a long illness which has thrown our little family into more than the usual chaos. I'm now gathering information on how to streamline things. Basically, common sense (groan) - getting rid of a Lot of unnecessary things, and having an appropriate place for what's important. It's uphill work! I can't do a lot of physical work yet, but I Can figure out what we need. Piece by piece, I hope we will be able to organize things so that the house is easier to clean, easier to find things in (!) and (is this too much to ask?) tidier! My husband is Not the organized type. He just Does things, but doesn't worry about little details like putting things away. Even he is beginning to see some logic in having a place for certain things, though. <g>

I just bought Stephen Covey's "Living the Seven Habits" on cassette, and that is really helpful for finding out (shh...how many non-urgent/non- important I've been doing!) So I'm off to meditate on what my mission is.

All the best!

Nancie

Janet ... this is wonderful ...

<<<I really think simplifying feeds on itself. You learn to let go of a few things, your load feels lighter, your stress goes down, hey that feels good, you learn to let go of some more things .... etc. I'm constantly learning to pare down myself and every time I do, I feel better. What a concept.>>>

Sometimes I compare simplifying and getting organized to the same feelings we have when we wash a muddy car (all bright and sparkling) or when we complete a huge project (and did a terrific job) ... it's extremely "powerful." If the concept makes you "feel" good, go for it. You can get started with my "4-D's Principle -- Do It, Delay It, Delegate It and Dump It. If you don't know how, a Professional Organizer will help. <BG>

Happy Organizing ...

Donna D. McMillan, NAPO-LA President

Charlsey,

Talk about listening to the 'little voices' in our lives! Good for Avery for showing up with a solution, and good for you for prompting it and inviting him into your world at that level.

It's also one more example of how someone outside ourselves can often see a situation from a different perspective than when we are in the middle of the muddle!

Paulette Ensign NAPO President

Paulette,

<<<someone outside ourselves can often see a situation from a different perspective than when we are in the middle of the muddle!>>>

That is exactly what I tell clients and/or prospective clients all the time! It is so true, they feel overwhelmed and confused and muddled, and yet the solution is often clear to me - partly because of my experience and knowledge, I'm sure, but also partly because I am not in the middle of the muddle!

Holly Uverity

Holly,

To take this one step further, sometimes when *I* am faced with some confusion, I'll often ask myself "if this were someone else's si situation, what would I be likely to suggest to them?" Then there's always the decision about whether to listen to the suggestion or not! < <VBG>

Paulette Ensign

Holly -

<<<someone outside ourselves can often see a situation from a different perspective than when we are in the middle of the it.

That is exactly what I tell clients and/or prospective clients all the time! It is so true, they feel overwhelmed and confused and muddled, and yet the solution is often clear to me - partly because of my experience and knowledge, I'm sure, but also partly because I am not in the middle of the muddle!<<

You are so right. Clients point out an area or problem and are just befuddled about what to do. Once we start talking about the situation from my viewpoint, the fog lifts from their own eyes.

Sincerely,

Sandy Stelter, NAPO member

Nancie,

>>If you have any reading suggestions, I'd like to hear them.....<<

Try 'How to Conquer Clutter' by Stephanie Culp -- she takes a *realistic* approach something I stress immensely. --or--

'It's Here...Somewhere' by Fulton and Hatch -- very comical intro to lighten your view of what can seem overwhelming. You said it yourself >>Piece by piece<<!!

You've already hit on the main issues of eliminating and assigning 'homes' and WOW to have a husband seeing reason in this endevour... you are ahead of the game. <s>

I would also encourage you to gauge your response to any ideas for getting organized. If it strikes you as common sense ie, 'of course!!' then go for it. If your response is one of indifference, keep looking for ideas. I ask my clients to use this same exercise because if you get excited about it, you are more likely to maintain your system.

Let us know how things progress >>Piece by piece<< <BG>

Traci Thomasson, NAPO member

Thanks, Traci, for the reading suggestions. I like the suggestion I read (I think in the library here) of thinking in 'units of one'. So I feel better if I even manage 'one' pile of extra stuff in a given day. It's so easy to panic about the whole picture when you're sitting there looking at it! <g>.

Well, I said my husband was *beginning* to see the logic in being more organized... <g> We were talking last night, and I told him I would like to feel that I have support in what I'm trying to do, rather than feeling I have to do it all myself. I learned some time ago that I cannot spend all my valuable time picking up after others! I will be hanging around here, looking for suggestions, and generally keeping motivated. <g>

Thanks again!

Nancie

Traci, do you have any suggestions on how to organize one's life, papers, documents, etc so that everything is *portable?

I may become a student again at age 37. College will be 2 hrs away so I will be living there thru the week and returning home to stay with friends/family on weekend. What do I need to make all the stuff (warranties, articles from magazines, insur papers) in my current desk (2 file cabs w/plywood on top) portable?

I'm just trying to find any ideas to make everything more mobile and portable. I am thinking about selling my desktop PC and getting a notebook model for example.