In this fly at your face, mixed-up crazy world, how do I remember anything at all? Doesn’t having a jam-packed schedule of soccer games and a whole bunch of to-do’s on my list mean I have an abundant life?
Nope.
In fact, when our lives are packed so tightly, we hardly have any room to remember the important stuff. Stuff like:
Hugs √
Kisses √
tousling hair √
brushing teeth √
passing on basic life skills–wait, what?
When parents tell me of the troubles they have getting their kids out the door in the morning, this is what they ask: “How do I get my kid more organized?”
“You don’t.”
is my response. You don’t get your kids more organized unless you make being organized yourself a priority. For many parents, this is a tough nut to swallow.
When your children see you doing the everyday stuff every day, it will be much easier for them to follow along. For example, if you want them to make their beds every morning before school, make your own. If you want them to clean up after themselves, you do likewise.
I’ve compiled a neat little list of what you can do to begin living the abundant life today. These habits will give you more time for the important things in life–like spending time with your loved ones.
Here’s how to begin:
Make your bed as soon as you get out of it. It will then be done and you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the day.
Clean up right after meals. Put the dishes in the sink if the dishwasher is full. See the next item for more on that:
Empty the dishwasher. Not doing this as soon as the dishes are done is more catastrophic than you realize: when it’s not emptied, any dirty dishes have to remain in the sink. When the sink is full, the counter becomes cluttered with dirty cups, plates, etc. See where I’m going here?
Avoid running the dishwasher over night. You probably won’t have time to empty it in the morning. The dirty breakfast dishes will then be hanging out in the sink until you empty the washer. Either run the dishwasher right after dinner OR run it in the morning after breakfast. Then empty the washer before you begin dinner.
Put items away as soon as you are done with them. When you use the last drop of toothpaste, immediatelyreplace it with a new tube. The same goes for body wash, shampoo, etc. No more searching for toothpaste at the last minute!
Doing each one of these things not only smooths out your nighttime and morning routines, it puts you on the road to a more abundant, simple life.
Do you suffer from C.H.A.O.S. (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome)? There is no shame in asking for help in decluttering your home and life. I am more than happy to show you how I got out of living in chaos. Contact me at kimscutebags@gmail.com
You are a free spirit. You stand at the edge of the deeps woods and think, “There is no trail; no boundaries holding me back. I can go where I want. This is good.” And so you go.
You soon find out that the terrain is tough, rough, and scary. It’s difficult to navigate. You turn around and head back.
A Walk in the Woods II
You are a free spirit. You stand at the edge of the deep woods. To your right this time is a trail–wide and long. You take it. You walk the trail for miles. Amazing wildlife crosses your path at every turn. You look at the beautiful sky and soak it all in. This trail has led you to unexpected places. You have found unexpected beauty. You are safe. You are free.
The Shackles of Clutter
At first, boundaries seem so constricting, right? After all, they set up a sort of series of rules or guidelines. Using the example of the walk in the woods, we can see the fault in this thinking. When we have no boundaries, we are caught in challenging situations, difficult to navigate. Boundaries give us the ability to walk free and clear.
Clutter in our homes is like the woods without the trail. At first it seems like freedom: “I don’t have to put these things away so I can do what I really want.” We might even say, ” I don’t have time to figure out where these things go,” or “I can’t be bothered trying to organize my home. I’m creative. Organization is for neat-freaks.”
Now, there are some people who function quite well in a cluttered atmosphere. They can easily find what they need in piles of stuff. They are also VERY rare.
The rest of us, however, need visible order. Clutter hinders our ability to do what we want, even if we don’t realize it. How many precious moments do we waste looking for stuff? If you can’t easily find what you need, clutter may be a problem for you.
It just might be the thief of freedom.
Clearing the clutter in our homes works like the trail in the woods–establishing a clear path to provide safety & a joyful experience. Making space allows us to move freely.
So tomorrow, as the country celebrates it’s freedom, why not do one simple act to remove the shackles of clutter?
Think Big, Start Small
Start with a junk drawer. Take out anything that fits this criteria:
Broken. Throw it away.
No longer used. Donate it to your favorite charity.
It belongs somewhere else. E.G. a DVD, a screwdriver, your kids dirty sock (hey, it happens!)
There is no shame in asking for help to clear the clutter and get organized. Let me help.Contact me atkimscutebags@gmail.com
Hi, I’m Kim and welcome to my (kinda) new blog. Starting over is a theme in my life, so, while this blog welcomes all who want to read it, my main focus will be women who want a fresh start. I’ve had a couple of blogs before and quite frankly, I simply abandoned them. Not this time.
Can you identify?
Living in chaos. If you know what it’s like to live in a mess, to not know where things are, then this blog is for you. I used to be there. Today I am a Professional Organizer, helping families sort their homes and their lives.
Freedom-stealing situation. If you know what it’s like to feel like you are just existing and NOT living a full and happy (abundant)life, then you know how confining it can be. Maybe your freedom-stealer is an abusive relationship. Mine was my very own addiction to compulsive eating.
Hopelessness. If there was ever one thing in life that you wanted so badly, but felt you could never have it, then you know the feeling of hopelessness. I was in my mid-40’s, never married, never had children. At nearly 250 lbs, I was also Morbidly Obese Level III. I had no hope that my life would get any better. Little did I know that my life was about to change.
If you’ve known ANY of these situations, then this blog is for you. Read on to find out how I went from living a life of messy, chaotic hopelessness to one of serenity and joy.
2010: From Chaos to Order
That’s when it started. At 240+ lbs, 45 years old and no prospects of ever getting married, I had lost all hope. Oh, and I had no job. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
July 17th, I said enough is enough and stopped compulsively overeating. The picture below was taken that very day at a local music festival. Smiling, but not happy:
I’m on the left smiling, but not happy.
Little did I know that I just took the first step on an amazing, life-changing journey. I have not looked back in regret.
Not long after, I entered a spiritual program of recovery using the Twelve Steps. Through those steps, I came to realize that not only was my eating chaotic and disorderly, but so was my life.
Weighing & Measuring
To lose the weight, I started to weigh and measure every piece of food I ate. This is by far one of the most humbling spiritual practices I do to this day. The detritus of excessive eating was gone; I was losing weight. What else in my life was surrounded by clutter?
Me. I was.
Surrounded by Clutter
Through weighing and measuring my food, I discovered a deep love for organization & clutter-free living. Getting rid of what was no longer necessary, both with food and my surroundings, I cleared the path for the purpose of my life.
First Comes Children…
It happened by accident. It was 2011 and I was working part-time and one of the women I worked with asked if I knew of anyone who could babysit a few days a week.
“Me!” I said.
And VOILA! I had two beautiful boys enter my life. They were babies and EVERYONE said the job probably wouldn’t last long.
WRONG! There is now a THIRD baby, and EIGHT YEARS LATER and I am still working with this wonderful family.
Then Comes Marriage…
2013 was a VERY lucky year for me. I met, fell in love with and married my husband, Mark. I was 49 years old. We met in May, got married in October. We are more in love today than we were 5 years ago. He knows me as only a woman with a healthy weight and a healthy attitude towards life. That is miraculous!
The most amazing husband a woman could ask for.
Enter Organizing Through the Back Door
Along with taking care of two children, I was also doing the occasional cleaning job. Well, it didn’t take me long to realize that what my clients really needed wasn’t someone to clean up after them, but, rather someone to teach them how to organize their belongings. Let me be clear: Cleaning and organizing are two different things. Cleaning involves cleansers & rags. Organizing involves bins, trash bags and various other items. I couldn’t clean my clients house UNTIL the stuff on the countertops & floors were organized and put away. What I was doing was simply putting a band-aid on a wound that needed stitches. Or to put it another way, I was giving them a fish to eat for the day. I wanted to teach them how to fish so they could eat for a lifetime.
The Birth of Good Orderly Direction Professional Organizing Services
I had no idea that such a thing as “professional organizer” existed. All I knew was that I saw people like Peter Walsh from the show “Clean Sweep” who treated people with kindness and empathy while helping them clear out their clutter. I wanted to do that. So, I started my business. After a few fits and starts, the name “Good, Orderly Direction” took hold.
So What Does Selling Bags Have to do With Any of This?
One major reason why clutter exists is because we are afraid of making decisions, or we put off making decisions indefinitely. Learning how to make decisions can be a daunting task and so I wanted to simplify some things for my clients. One of the things that was super-easy for me to do was provide an easy way for my clients to purchase the things they need to have an orderly and serene space.
Thirty-One provides a solution to one of my clients problems: “We’ve gotten rid of all the clutter. Now how do I store what I have?” By being an Independent Consultant, I can more easily provide storage and organization solutions to my clients. That’s one less decision (where do I buy the stuff to store what’s left?) my clients have to make.
But still, why Thirty-One?
Because the name, “Thirty-One” is rooted in scripture. It comes directly from Proverbs 31. And, in case you missed it, my organizing business ALSO has spiritual overtones (Good, Orderly Direction)
As a Catholic, my faith permeates my life. When I was in the disease of compulsive overeating, God was pretty much out of the picture. Self-directed, my life was in chaos. God-directed, my life has been restored to order.
Check out my Thirty-One Facebook page on the sidebar over here–>
Faith + Works 