3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Keeping the Home/School/Work Fires Burning

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

As a work-from-home(ish) person, I'm used to being on my laptop a lot. But now that my classes (the non-work-from-home element of my work life) have gone online, I'm on it all the time.

I'm all computered out. 

Now in week 2 of both my self-imposed quarantine and the ever-evolving online version of my class, I've developed a few guidelines for those of us who thought we had this work-from-home thing figured out but are now finding it a tad overwhelming.

Follow the rhythms. Your circadian rhythms, that is. If you are someone who automatically wakes up at the same time each day and sticks effortlessly to a routine, you're all set. If you (like me) are not, don't feel guilty about setting your work hours around your body's natural clock -- at least as long as you show up for any required meetings.

Listen to your body. I can feel all these extra hours in my back, shoulders and eyes, and I need to remind myself to move regularly, whether it's just looking away from my screen or getting up and walking around. Who knew a(nother) load of laundry could be good for me?

Seek balance. Like many other families, mine is working from home -- all three of us. Small potatoes to many families, but that's triple the number of us usually at home during the day. Since we're all on different schedules, it's easy for each of us to get tunnel vision and for any (or all) of us to  be working at any given time. Finding time to spend alone and together, at work and not at work, on the computer and away from it is important. This is especially true when the tool we use for work can be the same one we use for play. Without the physical break between work (or school) and home, we need to make a concerted effort to create one of our own. 

How about you? What tips and tricks have you discovered for making your multipurpose home/school/office smoothly?

Want more? Visit my Porch Swing Chronicles blog for my post, 

"10 Ways I'm Staying Sane While Staying Home" 

True Confessions Wednesday: How is Endless Time Not Enough Time?

True confession #21: I'm here 24-7 and my house still isn't completely organized. 

I thought for sure that when we were all required to stay home and socially distance ourselves that it might finally happen. I might tackle all the piles, sort through all the stuff and create clear space as far as the eye could see.

In the past eleven days, I have left the house only once -- to go to the grocery store. Meanwhile, back at our small Cape Cod, organizing to-dos remain on the list. The dining room table has been cleared of its egregious piles (because my daughter is using it for her Zoom sessions) and only a few scattered items of mine remain. I clear my desk every night, the mail pile has shrunk, and we spent three hours cleaning a section of the basement last weekend, but perfect organization has not yet become a reality.

Maybe I need eleven more days? Eleven days without teaching responsibilities that include learning how to use online tools?

While that would help, I'm pretty sure that still wouldn't do it. And I'm pretty sure I'm looking at this wrong, too. Only a few scattered items of mine remain on the dining room table, I clear my desk (which was a haven for piles -- and a dusty one at that -- only a few months ago) every night, the mail pile has shrunk (and needs about ten more minutes of dedicated time to disappear entirely), and we spent three hours cleaning a section of the basement last weekend and generating more trash than we can legally put out in a week.

That's progress.

Sure, I have a list of organizing projects -- probably longer than the list of things I've accomplished -- but that's how life works. There is always something to do, and that's as true of organizing as it is of anything else. And, if I'm honest, most of those projects haven't made it out of my head and onto my list yet because I'm occupied with all the changes our current circumstances bring.

So, for now, I'll focus on what I have done, even as the things I haven't done seem to scream at me as I walk past. The ones that scream most loudly (or are suggested by someone else, like our basement, which was my husband's idea) will make it to the list (first) and, eventually, to completion.

Or, more accurately, disappearance. But it always has been, and remains, a process.

No matter how many hours I spend in the house.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Using Organizing to Create an Environment You Want to Live In

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

One of the main goals of organizing, though we don't often think of it in such terms, is making peace with our stuff. Balancing what comes in with what goes out. Finding homes for things and creating routines so we don't live constantly surrounded by clutter.

Creating a home we want to live in.

This will look different for each of us, depending on our styles. While some of us dream of clear surfaces as far as the eye can see, others are happiest surrounded by a few of our favorite things. Either way, the three ideas below can move us toward homes that are havens, even when storms rage outside.

Keep the things you love...  So often, we equate organizing with getting rid of things, but that's only part of the equation. The things we love are part of what makes a house a home and stripping things down to the bare bones doesn't work for everyone. If you love it, don't set it free. Find it a place of honor where you can appreciate it and set something else free instead.

...and find another home for the things you don't. Letting things go is an unavoidable part of the organization process, but no one said getting rid of something can only mean throwing it in the trash. Some of us derive great satisfaction from filling garbage bags with things we no longer want or need and dragging them to the curb. Others prefer a little resale therapy (yard sales, consignment shops) or finding our once-beloved items the perfect new home. Letting go of what we no longer need is necessary; a one-size-fits-all destination or method is not.

Don't neglect aesthetics. Storage can be attractive and functional and the best storage usually is. When choosing the tools you'll use to keep your home in order, think of the mood you want to create. Vibrant? Fun? Funky? Refined? Neutral? If you think that seems like a lot to ask of a container, maybe you need to think outside the filing cabinet. Boring, basic drawers can be spiced up with new knobs. Bins come in a rainbow of colors, patterns and styles. Ottomans with room for toys inside can be sleek, chunky or padded. And those are just the items intended to be used for storage. There's no rule that every object must be used for one purpose and one purpose only (just ask anyone with an I love stuff personal style!) Once you pick up the stuff and put it away, how (besides uncluttered) do you want the room to look? What mood to you want to create?

It's easy to get mired in the practical side of organization, forgetting that organization is a means to an end: Easy upkeep that fits our lives and our styles.

And makes us glad to be in the space we are in.

Way Back Wednesday: One Small Change

Adjusting to a new schedule has left me, well, behind schedule, so I went in search of a post that was worth revisiting. This one pulled me in with its first sentence because, although the post is several years old, I'm having that loving my office feeling again. I cleaned my desk shortly after the designated day in January and have committed to keeping it clear of junk. This leaves me excited to work at my desk, and has made the transition to online teaching a bit easier, too, since I have much less junk to navigate.

But this post isn't about my desk. It's about how one small change, made perhaps in response to a serious dose of cabin fever, can kick off not only a succession of changes, but a feeling of appreciation for our surroundings. 

Lately, I have been loving my office. It all started when the white lights I'd had for a couple of years breathed their last, and I had to replace them. The string of new lights was long enough to allow a new configuration, one that added more light to the room, brightening up the small space. Soon after, I found myself spending more time in my tiny office. Nothing had changed but the lights, and yet the room felt more warm and welcoming. 

The same is often true with a new organizing tool. One small change can start a domino effect. Suddenly, not only is there an improvement in the look of the space, there's an improvement in how the space feels as well. We become excited about the possibilities again and, instead of avoiding a space that was once in need of an upgrade, we feel motivated to expand outward, bringing improvements to other areas as well. 

While it's important for our organizational tools to function well, the form they take and the style they embody matters as well. We're more motivated to use a tool that hits all of these three key concepts. A tool needs to be functional, fitting our styles and working with them, not against them. Its form -- the size, shape and physical attributes of the tool or container -- needs to fit into our physical space, or, in the case of something like a planner, the parameters of our life.

But often, it's the style of the tool that brings us back to it again and again. When we like the look of the container or tool, we're more likely to use it. The more we use it, the more habit-forming its use becomes and soon, we've developed a smooth, workable process that keeps us organized.

So, the next time you're tempted to dismiss a purchase as frivolous, put it through the attribute test.

Alexas Fotos via Pixab

• Form: Will it work in your space and in your life?
• Function: Will it fill a need and/or serve a purpose?
• Style: Do you find it appealing?

When you find something that does all of these things, you've hit the container jackpot and you're well on your way to organizing not only by STYLE, but with style as well.

And that not only looks good, but feels good as well.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 (Key) Simple Solutions

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about simple solutions, specifically two I'd recently tried. That got me thinking about other simple solutions and approaches. Here are three that sprang to mind.

Put it where you use it (location, location, location!) To many people, this seems obvious but when we think about the three organizational styles (drop and run, cram and jam and I know I put it somewhere), if we do what comes naturally without building these styles into our homes for things, we create an extra step. When we select logical, accessible homes, we can move beyond dropping and running, cramming and jamming and putting things into the first place we see and set up one-step solutions that work with our styles. Speaking of styles....

Choose tools that fit your styles, not the other way around. It takes a little digging and some creative thinking but it's possible to ditch a tool that's not working and replace it with one that fits our styles. At my house, containers with lids are few and far between because they don't work with my I need to see it/drop and run styles. Drawer organizers (premade and cobbled together) are a staple inside my drawers so I can see what I have. One lovely benefit of this? A sense of calm created by a tidy arrangement of my things.

Take small steps. I love all the steps in my STYLE process, but the most freeing one is take small steps, which gives me permission to tackle things a little at a time. Sometimes I get frustrated because that means it takes longer to whip a spot into space but finding big chunks of time to organize is simply not a possibility in my life, at least on a regular basis. Making progress, even a little at a time, motivates me to keep going.

What simple rules and solutions do you employ to keep yourself organized?

True Confessions Wednesday: Keeping it Simple

True Confession #20: I love simple solutions.

Last week, after thinking about it for a while and talking about it here, I created my drop spot -- just a simple felt tray. Unobtrusive, it has no bells and whistles. It's not perfect (it might be better if it were slightly wider), but it works. Creating the new habit of using it came naturally, which tells me it's the right tool in the right place.

Sometimes, the simplest solution is the answer.

A week or so ago, I stumbled upon another simple solution. When I (finally) sit down to write, my loudest distractions are internal -- go do this, don't forget that, are you sure that's the best way to say that? While that last one can only be tackled with enough time spent writing, the first can be easily dispensed with by taking a moment to jot them down and let them go. For this purpose, I keep a notepad beside my computer so I can do just that. Or, if I want to do a little on-the-fly advance planning, I can use two sticky notes instead: one for tasks I want to complete during the week and one for things I hope to get to on the weekend. (My I need to see it personal style dictates that they be different colors, of course). I can then stick them right inside my planner or on my weekly summary until each task finds a spot on my schedule.


So often, we make organizing harder than it has to be. The next time you're confronted with an organizational challenge, don't just ask yourself the best way to do solve it; in addition, ask yourself the easiest way. Much of the time, the answer to both questions is exactly the same, leaving us with more time at our disposal to tackle life's really tough challenges.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Key Considerations When Creating a Drop Spot

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

On Tuesday, the simple file tray I ordered for my drop spot arrived. I get ridiculously excited about these kinds of deliveries, which nudges me to tackle the task at hand sooner rather than later. I expected to have to revamp the whole space and move multiple things to new locations but, as it turned out, that wasn't necessary. The whole process was much simpler and faster than I expected, largely because I considered three key questions as I determined where the drop spot would go.

Location. Where would I put this drop spot so it's easily visible and accessible? As someone with an I need to see it personal style and a drop and run organizational style, visible and accessible are non-negotiable for me. Nearly all the styles benefit from accessibility but some styles are more comfortable with things being out of sight than we I need to see it folks are. 

Aesthetics.  Even though I like things visible, I still want my living space to look pretty, so aesthetics is a consideration as well. How can I make the space and container visible and accessible without making the area look cluttered? To accomplish this, I need something that will contain the folders and papers so it doesn't just look as though I just haphazardly dumped a pile of stuff. Connected to that is the question of...

Tools. What containers can I use to keep things neat, yet visible (but not too visible)?

The gray felt paper tray -- so simple, yet so perfect for the spot was just the solution I was looking for. As it turned out, it was a little smaller than I'd have liked, but it still works. 

And, as for revamping the space? I only had to move a couple of things and both of them already fit with some other things that had logical homes -- spots with room to grow so I could fit them in with no problem whatsoever.

All told, it took me less than fifteen minutes to get things the way I wanted them. Now I have to live with it for a while and see if any changes are necessary but, for now, I'm happy with my drop spot.

Now to get in the habit of using it. But, after all the consideration I gave it, I don't expect that to be a problem at all.

Guess it's time to get cracking on that clipping file.

True Confessions Wednesday: I Know What I Want

True Confession #19: I want what I want because I know what I need.

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out how to create an unobtrusive drop spot for my school folders that is true to my styles. While the fact that it's a drop spot (or it will be) makes it a perfect fit for my drop and run organizational style, the idea of unobtrusive is a challenge for my I need to see it personal style.

I've been at this long enough to have learned that when I know what I want the end result to be, but I'm not sure how to get there, I need to be patient. Turning all the related questions over in my mind allows me to consider all the possibilities until one snaps into place.

And it almost always does.

When I shared my dilemma with my husband, he immediately suggested my office, which sounds perfectly logical coming from someone with an I know I put it somewhere organizational style, but fails both the drop and run and I need to see it tests. My office is as far from the door I use to enter the house as it could possibly be, making that location neither accessible nor visible. While my drop spot needs to be somewhat tucked away so things don't look cluttered, it also needs to be close to where I pack up (and drop) my supplies each day.

Long story short, I determined a potential location on Saturday and on Sunday, I suddenly knew exactly which tool I needed to make things work. As I write this, I'm awaiting its arrival, looking forward to seeing how it works. I suspect I'll end up taking apart what's already there and relocating some of it, but that's not such a bad idea. The space I've identified is one of those where the things that live there landed there and just stayed. Rethinking their location and giving them intentional homes might be a bonus I hadn't considered when I started thinking about my drop spot. 

One of the benefits of learning how to work with our styles is that we get good at figuring out what we need to make a space work, I've reached the point where I know precisely what I want and what I don't want because I know my styles. While it might take me a little bit of brainstorming before that lighting bolt answer arrives, once that happens, I usually arrive at a long-term solution that everyone can live with. I rarely waste money on tools that don't work and I often improve the spaces surrounding the target area as well.

When it comes to organizing by STYLE, I've found that practice does make perfect -- or at least it provides a shortcut to easy upkeep.