One of my loves is office supplies. I’m almost as happy looking through an office supply store as I am a book store. Part of the manifests in my planner love. However since I left regular office work I’ve been looking for the perfect planner for me. Finally, after a decade or so it dawned on me my needs change so I need a planner that can adapt as I change. (more…)
I like organization and being able to find everything. It was easy when we moved often. I have found living in one place more then three years means we tend to collect junk. We’ve been in Wisconsin fifteen years the longest I have ever lived in one place. Ohhh- wheee, have we collected! Our aspiration is to retire to a Winnebago, or move about to series of small places. That means we need to shed 80%+ of our stuff. That is why I picked up The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kona.
Sorry about yesterday but blizzard and house stuff caught me and wouldn’t let me go. I looked up and it was 10PM so no post. **hangs head in shame** I am so sorry.
However what I was doing for myself led to this post! As you know I make bead jewelry and sell it. Didn’t so much last year with tumor, surgery and all. But that didn’t stop me from making it. Any way, I’ve robbed my stash a bit to make outfits for work. I mean how cool is it to have matching jewelry? Professional and cool then someone says “Phh that’s lovely.” and I can say- “why thank-you I made it.” Then I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I have explained that I like organization. I like having meals planned for at least a week at a time. I like knowing my work schedule at least a month at a time. I like being able to find stuff easily. I like knowing what I have and where it is… I like organization.
Well chronic health issues, having a slob of a teenage boy (don’t all of them come with that feature?) and generally no energy over the last few years. Things haven’t been as organized as I like. Seems when I didn’t work outside the home there was always tomorrow… the Scarlett O’Hare approach to organization.
I found myself scrambling in the morning for jewelry to go with what I was wearing. I’d find the right necklace but dang couldn’t find earrings or vice versa. Which is really sad for a woman who has literally 100s of each if you count her craft stock. I’d gotten so many necklaces that my jewelry armoire made them a tangled mess. Over the last month or so I’ve been pondering how to address the two problems. I came up with the same method I store my stock – zip lock bags.
One thing I have a lot of are various sizes of zip lock bags. I use them to store beads, chain, finding, finished product, etc. So I decided that I’d bag the necklace in a necklace bag, earrings (sometimes two pair because I have double pierced ears) in an earring bag then put those with the bracelet if there is one in a set bag. I could then just grab the set match a ring and watch off to work I go.
Great but I discovered that – well I’d been raiding my stock stash rather inconsistently. Some I’d not worn. Those went right back to stock. Some I didn’t get earrings with which for me that’s a must. I don’t always wear bracelets but I do always wear earrings. Then there were pieces that needed little repairs that had gotten shoved to the back of here or there.
Which brings me to my new project – aside from this blog, genealogy, doing bead inventory, scanning old pictures, my novel, losing weight, increasing exercise, my reading list, crochet, and solving all the world problems to create harmony among all the creatures of the planet – completing the pieces that aren’t a set and repairing those that need repair. I mean really I might be a sow’s ear and never be a silk purse dang it I can be the best put together sow’s ear you’ve ever seen. Heck you might not want a silk purse woman after seeing that!
I intend to do some before/after crafty posts on this project. Stay tuned to see what I’m doing for myself! It’ll make mornings easier, my jewelry armoire more organized, my look more put together, and be good advertising for my merchandise. It’s a win, win! So stay tuned – until next time!
I love lists. Well no not lists but well marked up To-Do lists. You see I’m plagued by the constant running in my head of all the things I need/want to do. It’s like a constant barrage of “you can’t rest you have to…..” going on in my head just about 24 hours a day. I’m sure it’s some mental disorder or another. At times it can be like being lashed, each a whip strike of a short coming. You haven’t finished chapter 29 **ka-pow**. You need to clean the bathroom **ka-pow**. You have to do the bill **Ka-POW!**
However I learned to tip of writing them down. Yep when I put them on paper and the task master in my head cracks his whip I defend myself with the list. See, I got it. I’ll get to it and mark it off. I have gotten up at night to put something on paper so I can let it go and sleep. My taskmaster never relents, it must be done!
I’ve got a list of things to-do today. That one never tops seven unmarked things on it at one time. If I mark something off and another task is nagging it goes on the list. On real bad taskmaster days – any task I complete goes on there and gets marked through so I can see that despite the whip cracking in my head I am productive.
My grocery list I’ve been told is a sight to behold. I just find it functional. I do it in Excel. I list item, department, and quantity. then I sort by department, then by item in department. I print it out on one page & put it on my shopping clipboard. That’s a clipboard I put a chained pen on so I can mark off easily as I shop. Remember my love for marked off lists! (that’s one on the cart pictured above)
The third list I use frequently is my blog topics list. This one is more fun and less whip-cracking. It does crack it’s whip when I don’t have five drafts in storage. Yes, I know but I like to have at least a week of written posts in draft just in case. It’s nice when it is a rushed day to have a post all written and ready for posting! It’s what I call self care and another way I block that mental whip from the internal taskmaster.
Things occur to me but then I forget them That’s why I have to jot them down. In college I lived by my planner. I put all my syllabi requirements in my planner along with frat things, family things, etc. I loved marking off the completed tasks and days. That moved to a two page a day planner when I was working – the seven things today list started then. Now I’ve a planner and lists. I live by them ya know.
I know I know I could put them in my phone. I learned from my attempt at keeping a very early palm pilot that I’m more of a pen and paper person. My satisfaction comes from the physical act of marking out and once the page is totally marked up ripping it off and tossing it out out out of my life! That’s why I’ve developed a devotion to well marked, dog eared lists. I relish marking off something as finished! Sometimes a simple strike out, but other times a full blow scratch-out. When there’s sections of a list completed I love to mark up and down on a section as if to dance on the grave of completed tasks! I was raised in a pen and paper world. As much as I’m open to giving that up, my psyche just can’t.
So here’s to a completed, well marked, heavily dog-eared, to-do list for 2012 that’s now a TA-DA-DONE list! Happy New Year!
There wasn’t room to turn a thought over in my office any more. I mean physical room to do it. I’m one of these people who can’t think when clutter gets to be too much. I’m not sure what my threshold is but I reached it in my office. The clutter may or may not be where visitors can see it, generally it’s not. Clutter on shelves, in drawers, in closets behind closed containers takes up space for me to think. I can’t explain it but it does. It’s all part of the Mary Louise Cycle of cleaning. First I start out orderly and vow to keep it that way. Next I become productive. Then I over extend a bit and clutter builds on surfaces. This is followed by putting it away. This step is known as the CLEAN UP. The next part is away gets filled up. Then clutter comes out onto the surfaces. Then I deal with it on the surfaces but start being nagged by the away that is full of stuff I don’t need now and haven’t needed in some time. Then I get bogged down, I can’t think. I feel closed in by stuff – stuff put away in the crammed full away. I try to find something and the packed full away gets in the way of finding that thing. I remember back at the beginning of the cycle when I could put my hands on things quickly because I didn’t have to dig in the cleaned up stuff to get to the important thing. THEN comes the CLEAN OUT.
The CLEAN OUT is a big deal because everything gets emptied, sorted, evaluated, and categorized. There is the I need this stuff that goes back close to hand. Probably the type of thing was looking for when I got fed up with digging in the Cleaned up stuff clutter stuff. Then there is the donate stuff. It’s served its purpose for me. Time for it to go serve someone else. This is followed by the keep until I need again stuff. This is mostly resting writing projects, genealogy documentation, or reference books. I tend to let large projects rest a month or two before going back to start rewrite or edit. I find the distance helps me. Finally the tiniest category of all is the keep just because I like it stuff. This applies to a very few books, a few things Aaron gave me when he was a child, some art supplies, and a box of pens. My rule is this stuff cannot exceed one file box. Nope never. So far I’ve not had to toss anything because the file box isn’t full. I’m VERY discerning about what goes there and I’m a damn good packer.
Why do I tell you this? Because for the last two and half days I’ve been involved in a major CLEAN OUT of my office. In many ways I’m heading into a new chapter of life. Aaron is on his own. I’ve just finished a 2nd draft novel. I’m approaching surgery and recuperation time. It’s a transition period for me to the next thing. Not that I’m ending anything I’m just building on it, like one chapter of a novel builds on the next. Yet you know from reading chapters end signaling a change in the on-going story. Life is the same. I’m ending one chapter and moving to the next.
My office is my sanctuary. It’s my place to be me and from there build outward to the home, the house, the town, and the world. I want my sanctuary orderly as I venture into the next chapter. It helps me build if I’m not digging through clutter to find the important things. What’s important in tangible things change over time. That years worth of bank statements that was so important for my first mortgage approval doesn’t matter now. That book I enjoyed but is over can be passed on to someone else to enjoy. I want to be surrounded by what appeals to me now, what is useful to me now, what I need now, what’s important now. That can’t be EVERYTHING – decisions have to be made with what is taking up physical space and by doing that I also clear out mental space.
So far all the files are now in order. My desk top is clear. What is close to hand reflects current projects that are used at least weekly. The shelves here in my tiny office hold references I need for those current projects. Tomorrow I tackled the office supply drawers and the next day the office closet. So far I’ve three large grocery bags of books and a box of odds and ends for donation. I’ve taken out one large trash bag of stuff I don’t need any more. I’ve got some boxes of genealogy documentation that can be stored, the digital copies are at my fingertips. I’ve got a file box of a novel draft that needs to rest in the dark for 4-12 weeks. I’m sure a box office supplies we don’t need now that Aaron is out of school will be collected next for donation. Gosh knows what I’ll find in the closet – I’m hoping Narnia isn’t back there I’d have to have another cold draft I have to block this winter. Besides I need to make room so I can run through another Mary Louise Cycle in this chapter.
Until next time!
Okay I’ve had that Ace Frehley ear-worm from the commercial that ends with it. Don’t know the product, a car of some short but enjoy the songs for where they are as they go across country. Not a good commercial for the car great one for songs, like Back In The New York Groove.
Life has been busy with Life stuff. Again dealt with health issues but again I’m back.
Decided to move my comic book review to this blog rather than on G+ so I can put the scans with the comments about the book. Getting my first posts on those ready.
Been working on some writing projects and dealing with over 100F weather.
Honestly I keep hoping a routine will establish itself and take hold but so far, one hasn’t held on for a whole month. Yet there’s always hope, always hope.
Sorry for the interruption but I’m now back from the stomach virus of 2012. Yes it was so bad I’m only doing it once and got it done the first week of the year. Get the unpleasantness over with first you see. Now I can turn my attention to the new year and what I’d like to do with it.
I’ve always liked a new year because it’s time to start new files. My filing drawer in my desk looks so neat and organized. I vow it will stay that way I will unfold and neatly file things ALL YEAR LONG. Then rush sets in about mid year and it goes downhill until January’s fresh start. Rinse and repeat for decades. Still I enjoy the look of neat files until expediency out weighs a pretty file drawer.
So the joy of starting anew with neat files has inspired me to consider other areas that need the same organization. Trust me I could summarize and say MY LIFE but well that’s not a realistic task sheet for me. Instead I decided to come up with top 5 things that need organization. Honestly I think that’s a bit excessive but I’ve got a year and I like things in 5s or 10s and ten was WAY too much for just a year.
By far the biggest job is the genealogical stuff. I love doing the research but really some answers may very well be there in the material I’ve got squirreled away in various containers or files. Wouldn’t it be grand to welcome in 2013 (Mayans be damned) a bit more organized than I was when I welcomed 2012? Oh yeah! I can dream can’t I?
As always I’d love to hear from you. I’m always available here just comment and when I get it your comment will appear and I’ll even answer you! If that’s not your style you can find me on Twitter as @marylouiseklund or on Google+ as +Mary Louise Eklund. If those are too public you can email me at marylouiseeklund at either gmail.com or yahoo.com!
Until next time!
A new year is on its way, giving us a reason to do year in review. I look back on the last year of this blog and see I didn’t make the most of what I had.
I want to change that in 2012. The first thing I did is read up on blogging advice. Let me tell you, there’s no shortage of it out there. There’s books, websites, and even blogs on how to blog. I jumped in reading here and there. Trying to glean commonalities from all them. Honestly there was very little.
Post regularly – whatever the interval I decide post regularly. That was the most often mentioned point in all the advice givers. Okay I got that, I fell down on it last year. I hate to set the goal of daily but it’s what I yearn to do. However I will set a goal of AT LEAST monthly. There that leaves room to strive for the daily goal but still set myself up for success.
Focus – Oh heck several say pick a topic and stick to it. If you want to chat about multiple topics make multiple blogs. I’m sorry that might be fantastic advice but it’s just not me. I get bored with single themed blogs. I get bored just talking about one thing. I don’t see it as focus but limitation. I like diversity and have worked hard in my life to embrace all aspects of myself. So this ain’t gonna happen. Consider me stuck in the variety show format. Tune in here to see what act comes next song, dance, stand up comedy, dramatic piece. My focus is to entertain us.
Simple layout – okay a few mentioned don’t over clutter your page. No problem there. I won’t. I don’t like clutter. Like I said in the real world I can’t think in clutter, in the virtual world I can’t take visual clutter.
Define why you blog – I blog to share, to entertain, to wave at the universe as we take a ride around the sun on this big ball. Good enough?
Self promote – Well I’m not one to be schlepping all the time. I hate people who just do that on social media. They only tweet to sell me something. Pfft I want that I can watch tv they do it every few minutes. Best I can do is post the link to my latest blog in my other social media. I’ll try to remind people they can subscribe by rss & e-mail. That’s about it. Since I don’t like people always selling to me I’m not comfortable doing it to others.
Be controversial – Oh lordy – that’s NOT me. Yes I have political opinions mostly leaning liberal if you want to know. Yes I have a religious view but that’s personal between me and what I consider divine – none of your business just as I consider yours none of mine.
I’m here to have fun and hope you are here for that too. I’m not here to debate, get snarky or any of that. Here it’s the we all get along, live and let live. Life is too short to not enjoy it and arguing isn’t enjoyable to me.
In the end what did I decide for my blog for 2012?
First off I need to become more proficient at using WordPress.
Second I need to post here regularly. I think I will post at least monthly. My plan is to come here more often with small thought posts instead of Google+.
Third this is a smorgasbord of topics, just like life. I’ll review comics that read regularly here. I’ll talk about writing and my struggle with it. I’ll chat about genealogy and family stories. There will be beading pictures and talk about how I plan to sell the backlog of what I make. Plus I’ll fill you in on what I’ve been doing with photos to illustrate. Heck I’ll try to include photos in everything just because I like pictures.
That’s about all I got. I’m going to here more often, chatting away about what interests me. If you like it share it with others. If you want to join in and chat feel free to comment here, on Google+ Mary Louise Eklund, on twitter @marylouiseeklund, flickr or email me marylouiseeklund at yahoo.com or gmail.com
Until next time… take care and do say hi.
Mary Louise Eklund 