You might wonder how baking cookies relate to encouraging change or getting organized. At first glance, they may seem unrelated. However, a funny thing happened recently, which is how I made the connection. I tested out a new cookie recipe from Amy Bowers, my friend who is a Health Coach. To ensure the best outcome, I used the specific ingredients she recommended, including almond butter, coconut sugar, and my favorite, dark chocolate chips.

A successful change journey also requires distinct ingredients. One, in particular, is crucial.

Essential Ingredient to Encourage Change

There are different types of change. Some changes we proactively seek, and some changes happen unexpectedly. There is an ingredient that is valuable for both. Successful change hinges on your choices and the decisions that follow.

Choice and decisions are not one but two things. However, I see them as a connected unit, so I’m offering them as one helpful ingredient.

When you seek change, you desire something different. You may want to establish a new habit, create more organization, or design your next stage of life. Desiring is one thing. That aspect is crucial because it provides your motivation and why. But desire alone isn’t enough.

To encourage actual change, you have many choices. Recognizing those choices is crucial. Identifying them is the thought part. Pairing a choice with a decision is the action part. A dynamic choice-decision-making cycle is vital for change to occur.

The Ingredients Of Practice

Let’s return to my cookie-baking analogy.

The choices went something like this:

• Is this recipe enticing enough to test, or not?

• Is it a recipe I can make on my own, or not?

• Do I have the ingredients, or will I have to buy some?

• Do I have the time to bake the recipe today or sometime in the future?

Nothing would have changed if I stopped after asking those questions and didn’t move on to the decision-making phase. There would have been no baking, cookies, or new favorite recipes. However, curiosity led me to continue. I couldn’t stop thinking about the enticing cookie photo Amy posted on Instagram.

The decision-making cycle looked like this:

• I carefully read the recipe and determined it was easy and well within my baking skills.

• I had most, but not all, of the ingredients.

• I looked at the time needed. It included going to the grocery store for the items I didn’t have, assembling the ingredients, and baking. I had the interest, ability, and time to test the recipe that day.

The cookies were baked, and they were incredibly delicious. They were so yummy that it was challenging to stop eating them. That’s a story for another day. If you want the recipe, email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, and I’ll happily share it, or you can see Amy’s post for the details.

“Successful change hinges on your choices and the decisions that follow.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

The Change You Seek

We’re in the second month of this new year. What changes are you working on? How are they going? Are you noticing your choices, making decisions, and taking action? Are you moving forward on your own or enlisting help?

Change happens when you repeatedly identify the choices, make decisions, and take action. You can bring about the change you crave through questioning, doing, readjusting, and staying curious.

If you want assistance with any part of the change process, I’d love to help. Please email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or click here to schedule a Discovery Call. Change is possible, especially with support.

At this reflective time of year, I love revisiting the past before moving ahead to the future. As part of this year-end review, I selected the best-loved organizing concepts of 2023, one from each month. I hope you discover or rediscover a seed idea that will bring inspiration and balance to your New Year.

Where will you focus to create organization and achieve your desired balance? Which people and projects will receive your time, energy, and attention? If you’re ready for a fresh start, embracing change, taking your next step, letting go, decluttering, enlisting help, and more, this is for you.

12 Hopeful and Best Loved Organizing Ideas of the Year

1. Fresh Start: Is Resistance Something That Has Paralyzed Your Fresh Start?

“What would it take?”

— Zoe Chance

2. Embrace Change: How to Make the Courageous Connection Between Risk and Change Really Helpful

“Making a change involves taking risks.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Next Step: How to Take One Next Step Now When You’re Feeling Unusually Overwhelmed

“Consider the big picture, yet approach it one small step at a time.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

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4. Letting Go: When Your Big Plate is Quickly Overflowing, Can You Let Go of One Thing?

“Is there simply ‘one thing’ you can let go of, reschedule, or delegate?”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

5. Clutter: What Kind of Overwhelming ‘Noise’ Does Your Clutter Actually Make?

“Clutter can create more stress and overwhelm than you realize.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

6. Time Management: One Absolutely Effective Time Crafting Strategy to Bring You Clarity

“Time passes in the blink of an eye.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

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7. Motivation: How to Revitalize Your Motivation Now Using Helpful Progress Principle Insights

“… of all forms of human motivation, the most effective one is progress.”

— Greg McKeown

8. Enlisting Help: 7 Ways to Joyfully Enlist Help Making Decisions When You’re Really Stuck

“When all else fails, flip a coin.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

9. Mindfulness: One Simple, Positive Way to Be More Mindful During Your Day

“We’re doing now, not next.”

— Twink McKenny

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10. Possibilities - One Remarkably Brave Question to Open the Door for Possibilities

“Does this belong in my life right now?”

— Juliet Landau-Pope

11. Wonderfully Human: What is the Value in Your Life of Appreciating More Spaciousness?

“The mosaic you create is the magnificent life you get to live.”

— Cassie Holmes, Ph.D.

12. Life Balance: 5 Positive Benefits of Creating More Balance for Happy Holidays

“When your balance wanders too far in one direction, it’s time to adjust.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

My deepest gratitude for being an integral part of this vibrant community. We’ve had an incredible year of conversations and sharing. You bring learning, growth, support, and inspiration to every exchange. Thank you for participating and sharing your best each week.

What inspired you this year? Which organizing concept resonates most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

This year winds down, and we take time to reflect on the past twelve months and the year about to start. 2022 has been full of intense emotions, experiences, and amazing conversations we shared on the blog. We’ve walked side-by-side, navigated turbulent waters, made new discoveries, and wrestled with life balance. In our free-flowing exchanges, insights and new perspectives emerged.

Our conversations about life balance, change, mindfulness, clutter, letting go, motivation, organizing, coping, resilience, hope, pandemics, and more have provided immense comfort, connection, and joy. Thank you for being part of this generous community. You inspire me to show up, write, think, explore, and engage.

I am deeply grateful for this community’s thoughtful words and beautiful sharing. I curated twelve of my favorite quotes of the year from my top engagers, selecting one from each month’s theme. Thank you, Christine Li, Diane Quintana, Ellen Delap, Janet Barclay, Janet Schiesl, Jonda Beattie, Julie Bestry, Lucy Kelly, Sabrina Quairoli, Sara Skillen, Seana Turner, and Yota Schneider. You are the consistent voices and readers who bring our conversations to life. I am grateful to you and everyone who reads the blog, contributes to our discussions or shares the posts. You bring hope, light, curiosity, perspective, and learning to each day.

There have been many other conversation participators and sharers this year, including Alison Nissen, Andi Willis, Christine Johnson, Geralin Thomas, Hazel Thornton, Jill Katz, Jill Yesko Diana, Julie Stobbe, Juliet Landau-Pope, Katherine Macey, Kim Tremblay, Lisa Gessert, Lynne Palumbo, Nancy Haworth, Sheila Delson, Stacey Agin Murray. Thank you for bringing richness to our conversations and for sharing your ideas.

Enjoy the year in review- one quote, insight, and inspiration at a time!

12 Delightful Quotes From Our Conversations This Year That Will Make You Feel Inspired

1. Fresh Start - 5 Best Ideas Shared Here by Pros to Help You Make a Promising Fresh Start

“Zero assumptions is a wonderful way to remind myself that I can start fresh with every moment. Every breath can be a reminder to refocus and notice what’s happening now and move from there.”

— Lucy Kelly

2. Embrace Change - 3 Hopeful Ideas Motivated Big Changes in My Life Which Can Really Help You Too

“I have made such sweeping changes recently...I’m still catching my breath and am learning that it’s ok to postpone some decisions while waiting for the dust to settle. The big change...feels so right that I’m happy just to let that feeling resonate for a while before I implement some of the other smaller changes that I am aware are lurking in the background...”

— Diane Quintana

3. Next Step - What Becomes Visible If You Make Your Next Step Hope?

“When life feels challenging, I like to reflect on the challenges I’ve endured and survived in the past. If I got through ‘that,’ I can surely get through ‘this!’”

— Janet Barclay

4. Letting Go - 3 Ways to Let Go of Big & Joyfully Experience Powerful Benefits of Little

“Often, it is in letting go of the big and cluttered that we can fully appreciate the abundance in our lives.”

— Yota Schneider

5. Clutter - 11 Delightful Pros Share Best Cues for When It’s Time To Declutter

“I know I need to declutter when I am feeling drained or fatigued. It’s a bodily response informing me that there are too many things going on or too much to focus on accurately and well. When I have that realization, I do my best to spring into decluttering mode so that I free myself up for smooth action again.”

— Christine Li, Ph.D.

6. Time Management - How To Prioritize Your Time and Celebrate Life’s Joyful Moments

“If we don’t prioritize our joy, our lives slip by, and while we’ll have served the clients and cooked the meals, and checked off our tasks, will we have really lived?”

— Julie Bestry

7. Motivation - Discover One Surprising Solution When Doomerism Sabotages Your Motivation

“Optimism is key to finding opportunities. When we are down, we feel stuck. Staying optimistic doesn’t mean you need to deny what is going on. You choose to put your energy into something that will uplift and motivate you.”

— Sabrina Quairoli

8. Enlisting Help - What’s The Value Of Enlisting Help As You Make A Positive Change?

“Enlisting help either as a mentor/teacher, accountability partner, or a cheerleader can make the difference between reaching your goal or giving up.”

— Jonda Beattie

9. Mindfulness - How to Bring Mindfulness To Each Day And Easily Increase Joy In Your Life

“…I often ask my clients to consider what they ‘get to do’ vs. ‘have to do.’ Right now, I’m joyfully anticipating a light day, some reading time, and prepping for the rest of the week. I ‘get to’ think ahead about my clients and meetings and family time – all of which I’m grateful for. It’s a key component of mindfulness...”

— Sara Skillen

10. Possibility Thinking - What’s Achievable When You See Life As A Petri Dish Of Astonishing Possibilities?

“…it’s easier to be grateful and optimistic than we think.”

— Janet Schiesl

11. Wonderfully Human - What Is The Amazing Value Received by Reframing More Thoughts?

“Rather than ‘I don’t know how,’ say ‘I am learning to.’ It is all about our perspective and our capacity to keep learning.”

— Ellen Delap

12. Life Balance - Make A Happy Holiday Season Life Balance Inspired By One Of Einstein’s Timely Ideas

“…this moment of calm was a true blessing…balance comes from allowing all activities to have some time, including stillness and rest.”

— Seana Turner

These quotes were taken from our lively dialogue on the blog this year. What resonates with you? Is there one idea you’d like to bring forward into the New Year? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

The newest installment (v36) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature has my latest finds which inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring, enlisting help discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme. 

You are a generous, communicative, and engaged group. I am deeply grateful for your ongoing presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Enlisting Help Discoveries

1. Interesting Read – Focus Help

I’ve often said the quality of your questions profoundly influences the quality of your decisions. In The Focus Project – The Not So Simple Art of Doing Less, author and keynote speaker Erik Qualman has cultivated the art of asking great questions. Qualman asked people what led to their sustained success and what was their greatest challenge. The answers, which came from CEOs, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs, and others, responded similarly. Their key to success was “focus.” Their greatest challenge was “staying focused.”

These responses resonated with Qualman so intensely that he created The Focus Project, a yearlong journey to help himself and others “to focus on what matters most.” He selected twelve areas to explore (one per month), including Growth, Health, Relationships, Gratitude, and Mindfulness. There’s even a chapter on Time/Energy Management, which includes ideas about organizing, multitasking, and scheduling. You will love this book if you need help focusing on WIN (What’s Important Now) in an “increasingly unfocused world.” 

2. Interesting Trend – Home Office Help

While many have returned to the office, others still work from home. If you’re working from home, you might have a dedicated room as your home office. However, many do not because there is no space. Instead, they continually shift their workspace from dining room tables to couches or kitchen counters. For those who desire a dedicated office area but are tight on space, help is here.

Have you heard of the cloffice? Yes, you read it correctly. The cloffice is a closet turned into an office. If you don't have a closet that can be repurposed, consider using an alcove instead. Elements to consider incorporating are a work surface, storage space, electricity, and good lighting.

“There are times when it’s beneficial to reach out for help.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Interesting Product  – Mood Help

There are numerous strategies to shift your mood. This can be an internal job, such as working through your negative self-talk. But external ways also help improve your mood, like being in nature or creating a positive environment. One huge mood booster is introducing pleasing scents. I love to burn candles and always look for ones that smell great.

I recently discovered Anecdote Candles, which have humorous descriptions with marvelous aromas. One of my favorites is Wanderlust, with mandarin and berry notes described as “hopeful escapes and aimless destinations.” Another fun one is Coffee Break, which “smells like procrastination and inspiration.”

4. Interesting Fact – E-Clutter Help

Do you need help with e-clutter? Is your inbox inundated with spam and unread emails? The Good Planet reported in 2019 that 293.6 billion emails were sent and received every 24 hours, which included approximately 107 billion spam emails. They propose that if every person deleted 10 emails, we could collectively save 1,725,000 gigabytes of storage space and about 55.2 million kilowatts of power. They suggest unsubscribing from emails you no longer need, deleting spam emails, and deleting emails after reading them. Declutter, which will help your inbox and the planet.

5. Interesting Thought – Unstuck Help

Have you ever felt stuck? What was the circumstance? Were you unsure of your next step? Did you need more information to continue your organizing project? Were you overwhelmed? Sometimes we can wiggle our way out of feeling stuck on our own to get things flowing by walking, writing, or sleeping. But there are also times when it’s beneficial to reach out for help. Engage in a conversation with a friend or colleague. Or hire a professional organizer like me to help work through the challenge and incorporate accountability.

What are your interesting enlisting help discoveries? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.