One of the things I love about working with my organizing clients is joining them on the journey as they transform their spaces, habits, and thoughts about clutter, organizing, and life. I’m most often called to help when they are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, at a crossroads, or in the midst of a life transition. The common thread is that they deeply desire change. They might be unclear about how to get there or the steps needed for change to occur, but they want a shift. They want something different.

Clients often begin with a certain level of clutter overwhelm paired with a desire to make their environment feel positive and supportive. Clients tell me that clutter overload paralyzes their decision making abilities. When they see clutter, they shut down. One client explained that the clutter, especially surface clutter, becomes one giant pile of undistinguishable items that feel impossible to sort, edit or organize. The cluttered areas negate the peaceful, “happy place” feeling she’d like.

To help her transform the bedroom to that “happy place,” we focused on one surface at a time. We broke down the undistinguishable pile on the dresser top, removed all the items, and sorted them onto the bed into smaller categories, grouping like with like. Grouped piles make it easier to visually see and decide for example about those ten mascaras, five bottles of lotion or fifty hair ties. In addition to reducing decision fatigue and overwhelm, organizing the big pile into small groups allowed us to pair up missing items, determine how much was enough, remove things that belonged elsewhere, and let go of possessions that had served their purpose, but were no longer useful or appreciated.

We reviewed each category and item, one at a time. Each decision resulted in routing objects to one of these categories: discard, donate, recycle, give to a specific person, move elsewhere, or keep in the bedroom. Once the dresser surface was cleared, edited and organized, we addressed a few other surfaces. The edited piles were then moved to their destinations.

By the time we finished, the clutter was gone, her “happy place” was restored, and we were ready to tackle the next room.

How do you handle the cluttered areas in your life? I’d love to know your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

The greening of spring is magnificent this year. The abundance of rain we’ve experienced in the past month has created the incredibly beautiful, lush blooms. I’ve been feeling a strong pull to spend more time outside so that I can drink in the changing landscape. Each day nature offers up new gifts, just waiting to be noticed.

Just yesterday, our first white iris opened. As I walked down the front path, I crouched down so that I could better see the bloom and take in its sweet candy-like scent. Time stood still. There were no lists, to dos, or clutter racing around my head. All doing was suspended for a few brief moments as I delighted in experiencing this new flower.

It was a quiet, mindful moment.

Throughout the remainder of the day, between the doing and getting things done, I kept returning to the iris. I visited it again and again, appreciating its scent and lovely paper-thin petals. It kept me grounded in the present. It allowed me to let go of my mind clutter and focus on what was right in front of me.

Perhaps you’re experiencing challenges with overwhelm, clutter, or lack of time. If so, you’re not alone. Change is possible. Pause for mindful moments. They might just be a surprising antidote to your clutter and overwhelm challenges. Incorporating more mindful moments into your day will shift your perspective and help you navigate the changing landscape.

What have you been noticing this spring? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

The day unfolded in surprising ways with one thing leading to the next. It began simply by emptying the dishwasher, a standard household organizational chore. As my husband Steve and I put some glassware away, we started to wonder how to better organize the cabinet contents, which had become too cluttered. The wondering prompted some questions such as . . .

“Do we need that?”

“Do we use that…ever?”

“Are we ready to let ‘it’ go?”

Before we realized it, we’d gone through several cabinets and amassed a pile of objects that we were ready to part with.

I took photos to see if our daughters might be interested in any of the items. We had some takers. The rest will be donated to Goodwill. Internally I felt lighter from clearing out. The cabinets looked less crowded too. There was no more precarious stacking of mugs or glasses. Instead, everything had space and a place to land. At one time the cabinets had been that way, but as you know, maintaining organization requires tweaking things every so often. And that time had arrived.

Another letting go of stuff happened this weekend with my annual changing from winter/fall to spring/summer clothes. This always presents an opportunity to purge and re-evaluate. Like with the dishes, I asked similar questions with my clothes like,

“Will I wear it…ever?”

“Does it fit?”

“Would I buy it today if I saw it in a store?”

For the clothing too, I let go of enough to allow my hanging clothes and drawers to breathe better. Everything felt a bit lighter, myself included.

With the letting go of clothing and kitchenware, and with feeling lighter and less burdened by the stuff of life, Steve and I decided to explore a new place near our home. It was a gorgeous warm and sunny day. We took a long walk in the woods on a beautiful Audubon trail. It was incredible to us that while we’ve lived in the Hudson Valley for over thirty years, we never went to this preserve before, which is only a five-minute drive from our home.

As I walked in the beautiful woods, I thought about how good it felt to let things go. I thought about how calming it was to be in this peaceful, wooded forest with birds chirping, gentle hills and paths to climb, and a scenic pond reflecting the bright, blue sky and fluffy, white clouds on its surface to see. By letting go, I made space to experience something new. By letting go, I made space to mindfully experience nature with joy and wonder without the burden of too much “stuff” weighing me down.

Have you experienced any letting go this spring? Are you thinking about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

It’s spring. This is often a very happy, joy-filled time of year. The temperature is warming, nature is re-growing, and sunlight abounds. Yet even with these signs of hope and renewal, life can still feel overwhelming.  Why is that? Do we take on too much? Do “situations” that we have little to no control over knock us down? Do we having trouble seeing the path forward?

Whatever the reasons are for your overwhelm, I’m going to offer up one powerful method to help you reduce it and bring back some calm. Before my secret is shared, I offer you a short story.

You many already know this about me, but I love getting together with my family and friends. There’s nothing that makes me happier than sharing stories, time, meals and laughter. With Passover around the corner, my husband Steve and I have been preparing to host a seder in our home, as we do most years. The group will be larger than normal. I admit that I’ve been stressing out about how we’re going to accommodate everyone. Thoughts like, “Will we have enough seats or space?” and “What if we don’t have enough food?” have occupied my mind.

Finally, though, we figured out the space and food challenges. As I was just settling in and focusing on the other aspects of getting ready, we ran into a major glitch. Our fairly new boiler, which provides our home with heat and hot water, stopped working. Without giving you the details of the saga, the upshot is that we now have a huge home project that needs to happen the same week we’re preparing for our 35 guests to come over. We’ll probably do a quick fix solution to get our heat and hot water back. Then after the gathering, we’ll make the major repair needed (as in getting an above ground oil tank) to permanently fix the problem.

What does this mean? Aside from a huge, unanticipated expense, it also means that the house won’t be in the shape I’d hoped it would be. There might be piles of dirt outside from digging. There could be pipes running on the ground in places they normally aren’t. It might mean that things will be much more chaotic leading up to the event than I had hoped. Then it hit me. There was nothing I could do to change any of those things. In fact, I could be worrying about things that might be non-issues. I certainly wasn’t thinking about what was most important. So what did I do? I tapped into something I already knew, but needed to remind myself of again.

The powerful method to reduce overwhelm and increase zen is to let go!

We have no control over certain things like when the boiler or oil tank decides to break. So I’m focusing on the things that are in my control (like my attitude or how many pounds of brisket I’ll be cooking, or matzoh balls I’ll be making,) and let go of the perfectionist, worry-ladened thoughts. Instead, I choose to remain calm and embrace the joy I’ll experience when our family and friends come to our home. Letting go feels so much better than holding on to worry and stress. Letting go opens the door for experiencing, as my Mom used to refer to as, “the good stuff.”

What helps you reduce overwhelm? Is there anything you’d like to let go of? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!