3 Keys Thursday: 3 (or more) Keys to Systems that Work

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

After a semester in Ireland, my daughter has returned home. We're very happy to have her back.

Her and all of her stuff.

She's been on an organizing spree, which is both good and bad. She has several piles of things to give away but, quite often, the piles of things she doesn't know what to do with end up in my possession.  

It's times like this that put our systems to the test. Can they absorb the influx? Are they up for the challenge?

When your system is working:

The side effects of your default styles are minimized -- or better yet, gone. Pile-ups, mystery locations, crushed, torn or broken items and that disconcerting feeling of being completely overwhelmed by stuff are mere memories when a system is working. For someone like me with an I need to see it personal style, a working system also means I'm not afraid to put things away. When  storage systems are designed to take our styles into consideration, it's as easy to put things away as it is to put them down.

You use it on a regular basis. Good systems are easy to use and maintain. If you're bypassing the system, a key component of one of your styles is probably going unaddressed. Set aside the "shoulds" and plan realistically. Maybe that file cabinet that keeps everything hidden is a great tool for your spouse, but if you pile things on top of it instead of opening the drawers, maybe a file holder with an open top is a better fit for you.

You can find what you're looking for.  To me, the true test of being organized is that I can find what I'm looking for in five minutes or less. Smoothly running systems earn their keep in saved time and reduced stress. If you have to go on a scavenger hunt for something every time you need it, it may be time to re-think the location you've chosen.

Given where we are in our organizing process at the moment, I'd add one more thing: a working system has room to grow -- not so much room that it can become a dumping ground, but enough wiggle room that it can absorb the addition of new items that inevitably become a part of the picture. -- as they do when my daughter comes home for the summer.

Perhaps the best payoff of all is this. When my daughter hands me something and says, "Where should I put this?" I immediately know the answer to that question. We're not quite there yet.

But we're getting close.

Seeking Sustainability

It's been a busy and exciting week, and it's only Wednesday! Over the weekend, I put together some visuals (like the one at left) to post on social media. I also wrote Monday's post about my planned countdown to release. And then, on Monday, I got a surprise.

The Kindle edition of Know Thyself is available!

Now, that's the kind of surprise I like -- especially on the heels of all the preparation I've been doing. In addition to sharing my visuals on social media, I have some real-world events planned, along with a webcast tomorrow. (You can read about all of that here).

As with my blogs, though, I don't want my posts to be merely advertisements, so I've been focusing on two important aspects of organization: why we organize and the idea that it's a process.

Getting organized is about defining the sweet spot between what comes into our homes and what goes out. Some things stay only briefly; others stay for a season or they come to live with us long-term and require homes of their own (storage space) within our homes. Which precise items make the cut is up to us, and we retain the freedom to change our minds day by day and moment by moment. In the end, the things that stay say as much about us as about our systems and our styles.

This is why sustainable organization isn't a one-size-fits all or a one-and-done proposition, and why it can sometimes be so frustrating. Getting organized short-term isn't really all that difficult; the hard part is staying organized -- creating a system that works with us and keeps pace with the people and things that are relevant in our lives as we -- and they -- change and grow.

It's in learning to embrace the process that we come to view organization as not just a weekend chore, but a way of life. The flip side to this coin is that our work is never completely done -- there is always something more to sort, to contain, to find a home for. While that can seem daunting, it can also keep things interesting. Imagine never changing your wardrobe or your decor or if the view outside your window never changed with the seasons. While there can be comfort in sameness, a lack of variety can also be stifling.

So, we accept the process, balancing the new and the old, acquisition and release, perfection and imperfection. And, along the way, we establish some order, some clear space and, if we keep our priorities in order, a little bit of the peace that comes with clear space as well.

Why Organize?

My book launches in a little over a month, so I've begun my countdown! I surveyed my launch team, asked some friends and family and did some brainstorming of my own to create a series of #whyorganize and #itsaprocess posts on Twitter and Instagram. The first one (today's) is the photo at left.

Have your own answer to the question, "Why organize?" Share it in the comments below and I just might make it into my next Twitter or Instagram post.

To stay up-to-date on all my visual creations, follow me on Twitter (@orgbystyle), Instagram (Lisa Lawmaster Hess), Pinterest (Lisa Lawmaster Hess) or Facebook (Lisa Lawmaster Hess, Writer). Or, you can just keep hanging out here for updates, as usual.

See you Wednesday, with another bit of book news. If you're observant, you might just find it before then and scoop me!

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Tackling my Infinite Inbox

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

It's here! It's here! The end of the semester is here!

It's all over but the grading, and most of that is nearly complete as well.

I took a chunk of time this afternoon just to be lazy, and it was wonderful. But, with only three weeks until summer classes start, there are some things I need to dig into. Book promotion, neglected household tasks and yesterday's topic, my infinite inbox, top the list.

As I was settling in to write this post, I remembered that I wrote about my email conundrum three years ago (I even used the same graphic!), so I went back to those posts for some ideas. Although I've adopted some good habits (delete the junk daily, if possible), I have been unable to stem the tide.

So it's time to go back in.

I've decided that my approach has to be similar to what I'd do if my inbox were an actual pile of mail instead of a virtual one. So, here are my three keys for slimming down my inbox.

Get rid of the junk mail. When I bring the mail in from the mailbox in front of our house each day, the first thing I do is sort it so that the junk doesn't linger. That way, even if I don't get to the rest of the mail right away, the pile I have to tackle is smaller and more relevant. With email, I can even go one step further and unsubscribe from the worst offenders.

Turn the pile over. When the mail (or any other pile of papers) accumulates, it's often easiest to sort from the bottom because that's where the outdated items are, which makes culling the pile simpler. With email, I need to scroll to the bottom and start there. In addition, I can search by source and set a cut-off date for all those newsletters that contain information that is no longer news.

Find a home for the stuff I need/want to keep. I have built filing systems for bills and real-world mail that work with my I need to see it personal style but figuring out what to do with the oldies-but-no-longer-goodies that survive the inbox purge is substantially more challenging. Because email is somewhat invisible, especially to someone with an I need to see it personal style, making it even less visible can be a bit anxiety-producing. I don't have a ready response for this except to clean up the folders I have and baby step my way into a few more so that I can find easy-to-use homes that work for me instead of stressing me out. And then I need to use them.

I've already taken the first steps by improving my daily email habits. Most days, I successfully delete my junk mail from my inbox (though keeping up with it is sometimes a challenge). I've removed the email program from my iPad, eliminating one place where I used to check mail (multiple checkpoints further complicated the problem) and, when I got my new laptop, I installed only my main account. For better or for worse, this means there's a lot less junk in the inbox.

joakant via Pixabay

Thursday night is one of my favorite television nights so tonight, I will take my first baby steps. I'll delete junk, start at the bottom and set target numbers, deciding how many emails I want to delete in this first pass. Doing this during the commercials will enable me to work at this overwhelming task in small chunks of time.

So, I'm going in. Wish me luck. And, if you have any helpful hints, I'd be most grateful if you shared them in the comments below.

Infinite Inbox

ijmaki via Pixabay

Last Thursday, I posted something in class for my students' reference and, at the same time, unwittingly shared another piece of information that didn't make me look so good.

"Professor Hess!" one of my young ladies cried. "Do you really have 4,175 unread emails?"

I reassured her that most of them were newsletters that I'd go in and delete once the semester was over.

She was no less horrified.

My email inbox is my organizational Achilles' heel. Like the piles of to-be-read books that are on bookshelves throughout my house, they belie both a sense of optimism and a lack of time. I keep thinking I'm going to have time to dig in and see what goodies lie beneath the snappy subject lines and tantalizing titles.

Only I never do.

So, now that the semester is (almost) over, it's (almost) time to dig in. The first step is to set parameters (what to get rid of and what to keep), but that also raises some questions. If "newsletter" implies "news," for example, how old does an email have to be to no longer qualify as "news"? If I keep tax records for seven years, how long do I keep emails from former students? And, perhaps most important, how do I create and access the archives on my school account?

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg and I'm sure that once I dig in, new ones will emerge as well. While I'd love to set lofty goals like inbox zero, I'm too realistic -- and too I need to see it -- to even dream of such a possibility.

So for now, I'll just settle for reducing the number to something less embarrassing.

And maybe unsubscribing from a few of those newsletters.

3 Keys to Bringing Your Dorm Dweller Home

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

It's that time of year! Time to pack 'em up and bring 'em home! Since my daughter spent her spring semester abroad, we aren't making the trek to her school to bring her and her car load of belongings home. This year, our main job is figuring out (once again) where we're going to put everything when she arrives. I'm hoping that will be an easier task since airline restrictions mean she's not bringing an entire apartment home this time.

Getting ready to pick up your dorm dweller? Here are three keys to making the whole process go more smoothly.

Preparation. Since they've been entrenched in finals and spring fever (not necessarily in that order), your kids may or may not have actually planned ahead and started packing and/or sending things home ahead of time. Whether you start the packing or they do, encourage them to separate the things they'll need for the summer from the things that are going back to school in the fall and then label everything! And, if you live far away, consider renting a storage unit for the summer. Your child's roommates or friends might be interested in sharing the space -- and the cost -- and everyone in the car will appreciate the extra space.

Tools. Even if your kids say they're almost finished, it never hurts to have a few boxes, bins and one-step packing containers with you, just in case. Bins and boxes work well for things that can be stashed away for the whole summer while fabric totes are handy for last minute items and things that need to remain accessible on the way home. In addition, they're lightweight and crushable, so, if they remain unused, they won't take up valuable elbow room on the way home. Don't forget labels and/or a permanent marker for keeping track of which container is which.

Patience. You may be ready to empty the room and hit the road, but keep in mind that these departures can be emotional for your child, who is saying goodbye to all of the people he or she has spent the better part of the last year with. Sure, technology makes it easier than ever to stay in touch, but, as you already know from your year apart from your teen, it's not the same. If time is of the essence, warn your child ahead of time, but be prepared for things to be more free flow than efficient.

Already have this pack-up-and-go stuff down to a science? Share your tips in the comments below where newbie empty nesters like me will be sure to appreciate them!

Great ideas for storing all that stuff once they hit home turf? Clue us in!

Realistic Organization

Pixabay

I used to be embarrassed by the state of my house often. It wasn't terrible -- just cluttered and very, very lived-in. My I need to see it/drop and run styles were in evidence in many places and on many flat surfaces. Having visitors required either hours dedicated to finding homes for things and putting them in those places or a frantic dash through the house to grab and stash.

These days, I'm embarrassed a lot less often.
If you were expecting me to say I'm never embarrassed, I hope you're not shocked or disappointed. The fact is that knowing about organizing -- and even writing about organizing -- is different from doing it.

When it comes to organizing (and keeping things uncluttered) the "doing" is often hampered by real life obstacles. Things like time, space and conflicting priorities lead us to take shortcuts that feel comfortable in the moment (like dropping and running, cramming and jamming or putting things somewhere), but that lead to piles and clutter we end up having to tackle later on.

Organizing is not a one-and-done process. (Wouldn't it be wonderful if it were?) Balancing what comes in with what goes out in a timely fashion requires consistent time and attention. As long as  both time and attention are plentiful, things go relatively smoothly. But, when we get busy or overwhelmed or other priorities emerge, it's easy for things to pile up. Quickly.

Tomorrow is my last day of classes for the semester. This week, I've emerged from the grading cave long enough to tackle a pile or two and create some clear space. Because I have workable systems in place, it's a fairly easy process, but it still requires time and attention. Fortunately, each clear space motivates me and reminds me that I know how to do this. I just need to have all of the tools -- including the intangible ones -- at my disposal.

When it comes to organization, no matter how much I learn and how much I write about it, I remain a work in progress. Some days, it's hard not to see this through the lens of failure -- as though simply understanding what I need to do will get the job done.

But it won't. Although knowledge alone is insufficient to keep my surfaces clear, there is one piece of information that helps me keep things in perspective -- one that I remind myself almost daily.

It's a process.