So, I’m guessing, for those who are at home, the pain points of your space are getting evermore magnified.
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“THINK ABOUT THE PERSON WHO COMES AFTER YOU” was a constant refrain in my house when I was growing up. (In fact, the [self-proclaimed] “Nag Hag” would leave us notes to this end!) So, natch, that old chestnut can be heard coming out of my face from time to time as I try to Impart Life Lessons Upon My Kid.
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Having discovered the work of Gretchen Rubin—thinker on habits, human nature, and happiness—AKA my jam—I have been eagerly consuming her books and considering how to apply and/or share some of her strategies
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Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a home organizer? Watch this time-lapse video I made to find out!
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In the wake of another person in the circle of delightful humans I know being issued a cancer citation, I wanted to share with you all some tips on how to preemptively make your environment rise up to meet you as you convalesce.
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As a home organizer and a person with a slight home-design-ap-and/or-real-estate-listing addiction, I spend a significant portion of time observing home environments. And while I’ve enjoyed feasting my eyes on thousands of attractive, visually well-composed spaces, I often realize with dismay that they’d present problems to my clients rather than solve them.
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Particularly in the early days of your kid’s life, it can be hard to differentiate which of your caregiving tasks is a) actually about caring for your her biological needs, or b) a parenting choice. It is easy to fall into thinking that—for example—where your kid sleeps or what she eats is biological, when in reality, that is something you as the parent decide.
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We did it—we KonMari-ed the playroom. It was both more and less painful than I thought it was going to be. It was my six-year old's idea to do this—she woke up one Saturday and was suddenly all about tidying up the playroom.
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As you would no doubt imagine, once you have discarded all the clothes that are harshing your buzz, or whatever, you now have to put them away, either in a closet, but preferably in a drawer. Kondo suggests that you "hang any clothes that look like they would be happier hung up, such as those made with soft materials that flutter in the breeze or highly tailored cuts, which protest at being folded."
In "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up," the lifestyle book that is sweeping the nation, author Marie Kondo describes a simple (but not easy), intuitive method for clearing out the clutter from your home. The one metric to apply--to pencils to sweaters to well, everything--is whether said item brings you joy.
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I decided to Feng Shui a room in my house. I realize that sounds like something an un- /under-employed person would say, but I've been learning a bit about Feng Shui and sincerely wanted to try my hand at it.
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Are you ready? It's very simple. Here it is:
KEEP THE THING IN THE PLACE WHERE YOU USE THE THING.
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A lot of people I've been talking with lately have been exploring the idea of setting up systems and routines for themselves. Someone told me recently that the Dalai Lama said one of the keys to happiness is ROUTINE. In a Mazlow's-hierarchy-of-needs sort of way, we need to know that the basic framework of the bulk of our days is set, so we are not expending a crapload of energy each day trying to figure out what the fudgsicles we're doing. Rather, having a set of parameters to frame the day allows us to relax into our lives, allowing for focus and productivity.
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Dear esteemed authors of articles about parenting (self included):
Hi. Thank you for sharing the pearls of wisdom you have gleaned from the ocean of articles, studies, opinions, techniques, books, blogs, experiences, and so on and so forth.
Like you and many of our generation (who are trying to be perfect) I am a concerned, conscientious parent and I really REALLY want to do a good job. I take this responsibility of raising a human being very seriously. However, I fail and eff up all the time. And I feel like crap about it and I'm sure you do too.
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Don’t let your furniture dictate your work style, configure your space to the way YOU like to work!
I recently had a client who needed help organizing her studio apartment. She said, "I have been living in a studio for a year and was having an incredibly hard time being productive in my space. I was wholly uninspired and affected by my environment. I loved the potential of my apartment and didn't want to move, but needed the space to work for me."
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OH LORD, THE CLUTTER. I AM SO OVERWHELMED, I MIGHT HAVE A STROKE. WHERE DO I START???
If this is you, rest easy: I have a few simple tips to get you started. Number one, well, precursor number one: Don’t try to do everything at once. Your head will explode.
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