Harmony At Last, LLC

I just read a great article in the Burlington Free Press called “Sustainable Living in the Suburbs”. Tim Nitz’s desire to be environmentally friendly by living a simple and sustainable lifestyle is impressive. The concept of “going green” has been gaining momentum in recent years and Nitz’s story goes well beyond a simple fade.

The one kitchen-size bag of garbage a month really caught my attention. Compare this to an Environmental Protection Agency statistic that in 2006, of the 250 million tons of garbage generated, Americans only recycled only 33%. Sweeden does much better with recycling 85% of their garbage. While the goal of one bag of garbage each month may feel out of reach to some, taking some simple measures to reduce each person’s impact on the environment would be great. I admit, while I am an avid recycler, my family is not even close to this number. This has motivated me to see how low I can go with limiting our garbage creation.

Take action… Does your area have a recycling program? Are you using it? If no recycling program exists, be a proponent of creating one. If one does exist, use it to the fullest extent possible. Form a new habit- recycle even when it’s not “convenient” to do so! If we each take this one step, it would make a big positive impact for our earth.

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s book, “Change Your Thoughts- Change your Life” has proved to be very powerful reading for me. In this book, Dyer includes the 81 verses of the “Tao Te Ching” or “Great Way” with his analysis of how to apply these verses to modern day living.

Verse 11 really caught my attention regarding the value of empty space:

“Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub;

it is on the hole in the center that

the use of the cart hinges.

Shape clay into a vessel;

it is the space within that makes it useful.

Carve fine doors and windows,

but the room is useful in its emptiness.

The usefulness of what is

depends on what is not.”

There is a high value for empty space when it comes to successfully completely an organizing project. Consider typical comments of someone who is telling me their goals for what they want an organized space to look like…

“I want to see my kitchen counters again.”

“I want to have nothing on the floors so it is easy to vacuum.”

“I need to be able to find things easily. Right now there is so much stuff that I can’t get to anything.”

“I just want to make this mess disappear. I can’t breathe when I look at it. It’s too overwhelming.”

In every case, these individuals are desiring more empty space. The amount of possessions they have has filled up the emptiness to a point that the space’s usefulness and serenity is diminished. To reach their goal, they will need to relocate, reorganize, or remove some of this excess stuff so that they can reclaim some of the “emptiness” that they desire.

This does not mean that one needs to get rid of every meaningful possession. Additionally, there are some people that choose to live more simply than others. (Check out Voluntary Simplicity if you want to learn more.) The key is to balance the empty space that they person desires with the need to have their possessions honored and available for use in their space. A truly empty space void of everything may prove useful for meditation although would not be helpful if you are sitting on the floor for dinner because you let go of your dining table! Ahhh… everything in moderation!

Ultimately this verse is a bit counter intuitive although very accurate. A person will feel more “full”, “alive”, and “light” when they are surrounded by a bit more “emptiness” in their space.

Plans can be great… you can schedule appointments or anticipate working on a specific project. Planning helps you think about what you’re going to do and when you’d like to actually do it.

Now enters the issue of “control”. There are some things within our control and somethings that are outside of our control.

When we are engaged in the planning process, ideally we are anticipating things that we can control that would impact our plan if something went awry. We might even develop a contingency plan to account for potential problems.

Even with the best created plan, there is the possibility of something happening that is outside of our control. When these challenges occur, it is up to us on how we deal with them- we can become angry and frustrated or we can choose to embrace flexibility. Flexiblity allows us to better roll with life’s surprises and deal with them in the best possible way that the situation allows. After all, our thoughts are usually not as clear when we are angry, resisting what is, complaining that our productivity is impacted, all because it’s not what we want it to be.

A palm tree in a hurricane can provide a great visual image of the benefit of flexibility. Instead of resisting the strong winds and snapping in two, a palm tree has the ability to withstand the winds by bending. It’s ability to be flexible allows it to survive and to resume it’s stately posture once the winds have passed.

It’s great to make plans. When life happens, let’s take a lesson from the palm trees and embrace flexibility to weather the surprises that come our way.

Alphabet Soup Part 1… I achieved my Certified Professional Organizer® (CPO®) designation in January 2008 from the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers (BCPO^SM). This required me to have completed over 1,500 hours of paid work experience and pass a written exam. I was excited to be one of the first to receive certification in the organizing field.

Alphabet Soup Part 2… In April 2008, I achieved my Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization® (CPO-CD®) through the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD). This achievement culminated 80 hours of specialized study, training, and directed coaching in addition to passing a peer review board over an 18 month period of time.

Right about now you may be asking… so what?!?!?

I am now one of less than 10 individuals in the United States to have achieved both certifications (and I’m the only one in the state of Vermont). More importantly to my clients, though, is my continued desired to learn and develop myself professionally. I’m passionate about helping people say goodbye to chaos and hello to calm in their work, home, and life. Continuing to develop my skills adds value to my clients every day as I can share new learning and ways to approach challenges.

My clients are my inspiration and I’m thankful for each of you in allowing me to support you on your journey. Thanks!

I had the pleasure of attending the 2008 National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference in early April. One of the highlights of this conference was being able to participate in Peter Walsh’s “Visionaries for Change” workshop.

In this presentation, Peter spent some time discussing consumerism in our society. There is one point in particular that I want to share with you. He said, “People buy products but invest in the promises.”

What does that statement mean to you?

Whether you are purchasing a pair of jeans, new kitchen cookware, or the latest technology gadget, you are buying more than just the product. As a society, myself included, we are so captured by the marketing messages that go with the product. (It makes sense that the marketing works too. Companies spend a lot of money to hire intelligent marketing people to craft the message that is going to entice us to actually buy the product.)

We believe that the jeans we buy will make our butt look better, the cookware will allow our family to eat meals in harmony like the Cleaver family in the show “Leave It to Beaver”, and that the technology gadget will allow us to accomplish 15hours of work in half the time. We invest in the promises of the products.

What happens when we buy too much? We bring more stuff into our lives than we can utilize, our homes become overfilled, and we cease to have space to breathe, think, or be. As Peter Walsh went on to say in his presentation, “Our homes are filled with products and littered with promises.”

Take a close look at how you are spending your money. What promises have you invested in? Is it at a manageable level or has it become excessive? Are you ready to recognize the marketing influence on your purchasing decisions and release yourself from the need to buy when you don’t really need the particular item?

“Fuzzy goals, fuzzy results.”- Julie Cubino

I really like this quote because too often we meander about, not sure of what we really want and yet somehow we seem surprised when we get random results.

To really achieve your goals, you need to know what you want. Some questions that can help you to refine your vision are:

* What do you want?

* Why do you want it? (ie What’s motivating you?)

* How important is it to you to achieve it?

* What actions are you willing to take to achieve it?

True motivation comes from within you. No matter how many cheerleaders you have, you need to find that personal motivation and have a belief that you can succeed.  Here are some tips to help you find your inner motivation and achieve success:

1. Know what you want. You need the clarity of what you want and what success looks like to you, in order to reach your goals. Set your intentions and you’ll be amazed at how the path starts to open up for you. Recognize where you may have been displaying intention deficit and transform it to intention abundance.

2. View roadblocks as opportunities for growth. When a challenge arises, it is an opportunity to grow, adapt, and ultimately become stronger than before. If you see a problem as unsolvable, you freeze up your creative juices to come up with a successful solution.

3. Form a mastermind group. Meet with others that have an intense desire for success and personal growth. You’ll share ideas with them, receive feedback, and get strength from their energy and enthusiasm. You’ll also be able to give encouragement and support to them as they pursue their goals.

It’s so easy to get swept away on the planning of what’s next and where we want to be, that it can be easy to neglect expressing gratitude for the blessings that surround us in the present.

It has become more important to me on my own personal journey to take time for gratitude and to appreciate that which is most important to me in my life. (Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book, Simple Abundance, is a great book for this topic.) As I continued to bring more gratitude into my own life, I realized that I wanted to share that learning with my family as well.

I recently came across an incredible method for encouraging the expression of gratitude within my family. It’s called “Thank Your Lucky Stars” and created by The Voice of Clay. It comes with this great mini pottery vase and twelve stars. You can say something that you’re grateful for as you drop a star into the jar. My kids love it- they each have their favorite colored stars of course! My spouse and I enjoy it as a nice family ritual.

Take a moment to reflect on the good things in your life. As you seek out your next challenge- whether a new organizing project, the next career move, or enhancing your work/life balance- how can you incorporate more gratitude into your day?

“There is a different between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit. When you are committed, you accept no excuses, only results.” Anonymous

With all of the push to getting more things done, it’s easy to pack a schedule so tight that there is no time for any relaxation. I came across an interesting quote recently about the need to take the time to play. Maybe this will even encourage you to take a break (or more!) from rigid time management.

“It’s more than the shoes, the raquet or bike

It’s more than your swing, the fish, or the hike

It’s more than the skis, the skates, or the snow

It’s ignoring the work and deciding to go. ”

By: Kristen Sheldon

I was able to experience this myself just this evening. After dinner, when it was precariously close to my kids bedtime, they requested to go outside on a night time walk. (We just received 14 inches of snow over the last two days and it was beckoning them outside.) My first thoughts were, “Ugh, I don’t really want to go outside right now. It’s cold and dark. I’d rather just get them ready for bed.” Their little (and persistent) pleas won out and outside we all went. It turned into 20 minutes of sledding, two very happy kids, and a joyful mom. Thank goodness for play!