It’s almost that time when this year will end and a new one will begin. The days are an interesting mix of celebration, wrap-up and time off. What mode are you in? Are you planning, relaxing, or maybe doing a combination of both. One of my favorite things to do before moving forward is to reflect on the past. I’ve gathered for you highlights from the most popular posts and organizing ideas of 2016 and also created a short video. If you’re curious to learn more one of my quotes, click on the link below it to read the original post. My hope is that you discover a seed idea that will inspire you as you organize for the New Year. 

What area will you focus on to create the organizing and balance that you desire? Which people, projects and things will you give your time, energy and attention to?

Watch, read, and then join our conversation!

 "2016 Most Popular Organizing Ideas" video

WINTER 2016

Fresh Start

“Mistakes happen. Discover the gift in those mistakes.”

How to Get a Fresh Start After Embarrassing Yourself 

Change

“Any change that we desire starts with the acknowledgement and awareness that we want to make a change.” 

Change One Habit With This Easy and Clever Solution 

Next Step

“…To figure out next, there’s nothing like a great question to get the pump primed for action.”

Top 5 Wonderful Ideas for Figuring Out Your Next Step 

SPRING 2016

Letting Go

“The tension between holding on and letting go is part of being human.” 

What Makes It So Hard to Let Go? 

Clutter

“…By giving myself the time with nature and art, my cluttered mind has settled.” 

How To Find Some Calm For Your Cluttered Mind

Time Management

“Love is an active expression of words and actions, which doesn’t happen unless you devote time to your relationships.” 

How to Savor the Precious Time We Have 

SUMMER 2016

Motivation

“Whether you choose to play, disconnect, brainstorm or make lists, renewed motivation is possible for you.” 

7 Great Ways to Get Motivated When You Are in a Slump 

Enlisting Help

“If you’re struggling with overwhelm … it’s probably time to reach out for help.” 

What Are Today’s Interesting Finds? – V11

Success

“Our successes will flow more easily if we balance life’s daily stresses with moments of calm.”

How to Strengthen Your Foundation for Fantastic Success

FALL 2016

Possibility Thinking

“Once you make your choice, breathe deeply and then let go of the outcome.” 

5 Guaranteed Strategies to Help You Make Decisions 

Wonderfully Human

“We’re humans living in a digital world.” 

9 Digital Overwhelm Challenges and Helpful Human Solutions

Life Balance

“Locate yourself. Be present. Take in the moment that is now.”

How to Find Your Balance This Season

My deepest gratitude goes to you for being part of this community. We’ve had an amazingly rich year of conversations and sharing of ideas and resources. You bring learning, growth and wonder to each day. Thank you for coming back again and again to participate and share your best. 

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, organized and joy-filled New Year!

Words like harmony, evenness, stability and symmetry come to mind when I think about balance. Yet to find that right balance, we have to shake things up to enter a more calm and balanced state. I also equate balance with a certain amount of predictability or sameness.

Here’s the thing. What if we purposefully decided to poke at our balanced state in order to change that status quo? What if we made one small change? That might be forming a new habit like waking up or going to bed earlier. It might mean tasting a new food you never thought you’d like. It could mean letting go of something old to replace something new coming in. Changing the balance on purpose might open your perspective to something you hadn’t thought of before. One small change could unleash a host of possibilities.

You might find this odd that I’m suggesting to purposefully mess with the status quo or your balance. This might seem particularly strange coming from a professional organizer who often writes about “finding a balance that’s right for you.” I do see the value of stirring things up every so often.

This inadvertently happened when I was shopping recently for a replacement journal. I’ve kept a journal for over forty years. Every year or so, I buy a new one when the journal is filled. For over ten years, I’ve happily used a black Moleskine® sketchbook journal. I like the thick, smooth paper.

This time the stores didn’t have the exact style that I wanted. The interior paper was either too thin or it had lines, dots or grids. The black-bound, thicker paper, blank Moleskine® journals were not in stock. I did find the right journal with a red (not black) cover. I immediately dismissed the idea of buying the red one. It seemed too radical, too different, and just too scary. All my other journals were black. How could I break from tradition? What would happen if bought a different color? I could feel my heart palpitating at the idea of making an unexpected choice. Was it fear or excitement?

I kept coming back to that question. What would happen if I bought a different color? And then it hit me and I thought,

“Stir things up, Linda! Break with tradition. Try something new.”

As small and insignificant as this may seem, it represented a willingness on my part to be daring. I thought this would be a great way to enter the New Year by messing with (in a good way) or teasing the status quo.

My new, red journal sits on my nightstand ready to be written in. I can’t wait to make my first entry. I know. I know. It’s just a journal…a red one. However, there’s something about the red color, the different color that suggests interesting possibilities, inspired ideas, new experiences, and unexpected surprises. There’s also something quite cheery about the red. It’s bold. It’s bright. It’s hope wrapping the pages of days yet to be.

Have you ever purposefully messed with your balance? Has one tiny change unleashed new possibilities? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation! 

As this year is almost over, many of us are reflecting about the past twelve months and the year that’s about to begin. I’m thinking about the many wonderful conversations we’ve shared together on the blog. This free exchange of insights always sparks new ideas. Our conversations about change, clutter, letting go, time, organizing, motivation, life balance and more are one of my greatest sources of joys and inspiration. Thank you for being part of this special community. You inspire me to write, to think, to experiment, and to engage.

I’m grateful for and inspired by the thoughtful words and generous sharing of this community. I’ve curated twelve of my favorite quotes this year by my top engagers, Janet Barclay, Jill Robson, Seana Turner, Ellen Delap, Diane Quintana, Sabrina Quairoli, Sarah Soboleski, Hazel Thornton, Nacho Eguiarte, Jaime Steele, Autumn Leopold and Liana George, selecting one from each month and topic. I’m deeply thankful for them and everyone that adds to our conversations. You bring hope, light, curiosity, and learning each day.

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

Fresh Start

“I love the energy that comes from a refreshed space. It’s clearing out the stuff but also freshening up your perspective by viewing what’s left. I take the opportunity at the new year to make the most of clearing out.”

Ellen Delap on How to Use That Energy Boost You Get From a Fresh Start

Embrace Change

“I guess letting go of what once was, and appreciating what now is, is kind of like focusing on what good things (stuff) you have, and not feeling compelled to accumulate more. Or being grateful for what’s going well in your life as opposed to being resentful about what’s not going well. Any way you slice it I think gratitude is the key.”

Hazel Thornton on Appreciating Genuine Joy With Life’s Inevitable Changes

Next Step

“Knowing what’s the next step is just part of the equation, but knowing why it is important gives us the ultimate reason to go for it.”

Nacho Eguiarte on What Is Your Next Step And Why Is It Important?

Letting Go

“Setting parameters in our lives can help us at so many levels but I think you are so right when you apply it to letting go. It can help with decision fatigue and make the process much easier! I always encourage my clients who are having trouble making a decision to give themselves a time parameter, such as I will make a decision about this item in 'x' minutes, hours, days, etc.”

Liana George on Learn One Amazing Secret That Helps You Let Go

Clutter

“I’ve identified another challenge in my home: framed pictures. Whether they’re family photos, needlepoint projects made by loved ones, or other types of art, they tend to stay on the wall long after I’ve stopped enjoying them, and then they sit in a corner until I’m willing to part with them. I think it’s because they will have little or no value to anyone else, so it’s harder to get rid of them than more useful items.”

Janet Barclay on Why Do We Hold On To Treasures, Clutter And Stuff?

Time Management

“Wow how the time has flown by. We need to drink in every moment.”

Jill Robson on Hydrangeas in Bloom Means the Wonderful Time Has Arrived

Motivation

“What motivates me to get organized is a day off…organizing is my relaxing time. A time when I can reassess and revise systems.”

Sabrina Quairoli on How to Use “Dumpster Envy” to Get Motivated

Enlisting help

“I am working on my mindfulness and finding that it does indeed increase happiness. Putting down the technology has allowed me to focus on what is here and now. By not being distracted I have been able to interact with those around me.”

Jaime Steele on 3 Useful Ideas to Help Increase Your Happiness

Success

“I need to start each day with breakfast by myself before my toddler wakes up. While eating I listen to daily mentoring recordings from Darren Hardy. This precious time really helps me set the tone for a successful day if my batteries have some solo recharging time.”

Sarah Soboleski on How to Strengthen Your Foundation For Fantastic Success

Possibility Thinking

“…you should schedule time for yourself. To think big! Make sure you have some white space in your week. If I look at my week and it’s too full it causes me anxiety right there. I have truly tried to change that. I want more white space! More time to be spontaneous with my family and more time for myself to walk, read, cook, etc.”

Autumn Leopold on Practical Possibilities For Deciding When to Think Big or Small

Wonderfully Human

“…one of the hardest things to do is to take a hard or close look at yourself and identify your own strengths. So often we focus on our weaknesses. If we turn it around ask ourselves ‘which strengths do I have to help me compensate for this weakness?’ we would be so much better off.”

Diane Quintana on Interesting Connection With Politics, Being Human and Organizing Habits

Life Balance

“If I had to single out one of your ideas for maintaining balance, it would be ‘You Are Here.’ Especially at this time of year, our minds seem to be constantly trying to fix, address, handle, solve, and deal with a constant stream of issues that bombard our brains. This just steals attention (and joy!) from the moment. I need to continually work on closing the door to the noise and live in the now.”

Seana Turner on How to Find Your Balance During This Season

What resonates with you? Is there one idea that you’d like to bring forward for 2017? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Holiday shopping, parties, and out of town guests…oh my! Those are some of the causes for our temporary disruption of balance and calm. Seasonal excitement and stress is evident almost everywhere I go. Some of us take off for the season to unwind and relax. No work or obligations. However, even the vacationers can experience holiday stress in preparation for taking time off.

I began wondering about ways to find balance during this busy time of year. While I was pondering, my gaze became fixed on the bowl of fidgets on my desk. This collection of miniature toys includes reminders of attitudes, places visited, childhood memories and more. When working in my office, I’m accompanied by uplifting thoughts and tiny toys to play with.

It occurred to me, that some of the messages in my bowl were a great starting point for restoring balance and adjusting that holiday season perspective. Maybe one of these will be useful for you.

7 Ways to Find More Balance During the Holiday Season

1. Optimism

Is your glass half full or half empty? Where do you lean? Shifting your thoughts to positive outcomes and possibilities can counteract your seasonal anxiety and stress. What fills your glass?

2. You Are Here

Locate yourself. Be present. Take in the moment that is now. Sit with it and appreciate where you are, whom you are with, and what you are sensing. Don’t past or future-think. Just be here.

3. WW

Access your Wonder Woman, superhero powers. These include superhuman strength, speed, durability, reflexes and longevity. Strike a Wonder Woman power pose and feel your balance, strength and confidence increase.

4. Try Smile Therapy

Smiling creates physiological changes in the body including lowering blood pressure, releasing endorphins and relieving stress. Have you tried smile therapy? Bring back some happy balance to your days by smiling your way through the holiday season. Watch some slapstick, put on your favorite comedy, or share a smile with a stranger. Mouth corners up!

5. Feelings

This can be a tumultuous time of year that brings about all kinds of intense feelings from happy to sad to angry to frustrated. Don’t judge your feelings. Acknowledge them. Feel them. They are temporary and will move on. Don’t let them derail your days.

6. I Like Big Puns

Humor is a wonderful way to re-balance a stressful day. There’s nothing quite as fun as laughing at silly jokes with your friends or family. My brother-in-law was visiting recently and showered us with his long list of puns and jokes. Even though I’d heard them many times before, I couldn’t help but laugh. How about this one? . . .

“I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.”

7. Sparkle

Let your inner sparkle shine, while appreciating the outer sparkle of the season. There’s more glitter and glitz this time of year. I love it! I’ll admit that I love a little sparkle all year long. Let the luminosity of the season remind us to focus on the bright spots. Take the path away from the frenzy towards the joy. Sparkle on.

Which items from my bowl of fidgets speak to you? What helps you bring some balance and perspective back to this full, busy season? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.