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In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
Deepak Chopra
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Join me every Monday for a thought provoking quote to inspire you and get you through the hustle and bustle of the week.
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I know what you’re thinking, “He’s talking about gardening in spring? It’s still February!” Well with me that’s a given but if you have any interest in getting a good organized start to your 2010 gardening season you will start thinking about it too! Winter isn’t just a time to hole up in our homes staying close to the fire with a cup of tea and waiting for the relief that comes with the spring sun. Winter is the perfect time to plan ahead and get an idea of what you want to accomplish in the garden. What exactly do you need to do to get ready? Here are a few ideas that I tackle during this time of the year:
There you have a short list of things to think about before gardening this spring. How do you plan out your spring gardening?
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February is in full swing and I hope you had a wonderful New Year! I hope many of you set a few new goals this year and are well on your way to tackling them. One of my goals is to continue to make Complete Organizing Solutions a well rounded site to meet all of your organizing needs. Towards the end of 2009 I brought on a few contributors to help us tackle certain areas of our lives like memory keeping, gardening and all things food! Most recently I brought on Heather to help you organize your homeschool experience. It is my hope that our contributors can give you a great start at organizing some of these areas of your lives and when you’re ready to learn more you can visit their sites as a resource chocked full of more great information!
Now it is my pleasure to introduce two more contributors to the organizing family. Wojciech (you can call him “Wojo”) will be covering finances and Shannon will be our new party planner extrodinaire!
An area I always struggled with in the past were finances. I wish there had been a good resource to learn from when I started out on my own, it would have saved me a lot of trouble! Whether you’re just getting started on your financial journey or already trying to pull yourself out of debt, Wojo will have some great tips to help you get your finances in order!
Speaking of finances, I need to start saving for my daughters wedding! :) (I know she’s only three but better start sometime!) Seriously, I love that these two topics ended up showing up at the same time. Once you have your finances in order you can start planning for the future and creating the life that you want now. So what better way to celebrate than with a good party! Shannon is coming on board to give you creative party ideas and tips on planning events. After planning my own wedding in a few short months almost 6 years ago I loved the idea of being a party planner and then I thought about the emotions of new brides and thought I would be better off sticking to organizing!
I am headed to the Blissdom Conference and you will be hearing from Dave our resident gardener soon. After all spring will be here before you know it! You will hear from Wojciech as he gets you thinking about your financial situation and there are some Valentine festivities in the air, along with a hot topic in memory keeping. I will continue walking you through Organizing 101 and if you haven’t started the Organizing Challenge yet, then what are you waiting for? It looks like February will be a busy month around here.
Here’s to a well rounded, organized life! You can read more about our new contributors below and don’t forget to say hi!
Blog: Fiscal Fizzle Twitter: Fiscal Fizzle
Wojciech Kulicki: Wojciech is the the 20-something writer behind Fiscal Fizzle, a personal finance blog. Wojciech is an architect by day, but found himself annoying everyone with endless talk about money. To save his marriage and friendships, he started a blog to teach others what he’s learned. Wojciech lives in Southwest Florida with his awesome wife and newborn son.
Wojciech will share basic money topics and show you how to look at your finances with an organizing bias. He’ll show you, in an easy to understand format, how to set up and simplify your money systems, streamline how you deal with finances, and tackle piled-up money clutter.
Blog: The Creative Party Place
Shannon Dow: In blogland Shannon is known as “EightCrazy” and
“EightCrazy Design”. and the hostess at The Creative Party Place. It has been Shannon’s joy over the last year to create a ton of fun, unique and personalized blog fashions for all of her clients. Blogs are almost like little parties….it’s the details that really make them special!
Shannon has always looked at pictures of parties in the magazines or on television and dreamed about throwing one or going to one. From beautiful garden parties, to stylish dinner parties in a NY loft, they have always intrigued her. Shannon loves all the little details that go into making a celebration something personal and ultimately blessing the person whom is being honored.
Shannon enjoys throwing her kids parties, baby and bridal showers for friends and hosting the occasional dinner party. Also a part-time wedding coordinator at her church, Shannon thoroughly enjoys assisting brides on their wedding day.
[Photos: left-JSmith, right-prettyinprint]
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A while back I asked my readers what being organized meant to them, here are a few of their responses…
Paula said, “organization is all about making your daily life easier and less stressful. It’s also about making sure you have time for what is really important to you and your family.”
Gilda said, “I think of Organization as bringing Order to Life – whether it be home, work, schedules or whatever it is you’re doing. When there is order, there is peace.”
Hope said, “Organizing = an end to chaos; simplicity in your life; a sense of accomplishment; success; an open door for more independence”
Larissa said, “I think organizing means considering everything that you really need to use for your life to go smoothly, figuring out how to efficiently allow those things to do their job, and clearing out/getting rid of everything else.”
Wow are these some smart ladies or what! I think this quote from AA Milne really simplifies the meaning of organization quite well. This is actually being said by Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh…
“Organizing is what you do before you do anything, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.” ~ AA Milne
I gave a few examples of how clutter can lead to disorganization and really clutter is any thing or thought that prevents you from living life to the fullest. It is STUFF that has no plan or purpose; no rhyme or reason. It is just there piling up.
To be successful at anything you have to make goals, plan and prepare. There are not many things you can do in life that you can just jump right in and do and be a complete success. We learn to walk on wobbly legs, we learn to ride a bike on training wheels, we practice at getting that recipe just right, we read and research everything we can before bringing that new baby home! We become Husbands, Wives, Moms, Dads, homeowners, caretakers, business men/women and we are expected to manage it all and have it all together. Life is full of curve balls and sometimes we have to make the best of what we have. But before we do anything we have to prepare, plan and make goals.
“Organizing is what you do before you do anything, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.” ~ AA Milne
We have all these things we want to do and want to be and sometimes it just looks like one jumbled mess. If you think of organizing as what you do before you do anything then perhaps it will be easier to set that time aside and set priorities for yourself.
Organizing is not about being perfect. You can still have piles of paper and know where everything is. Are your piles functioning and not bothering anyone or are they clutter?
Organizing is not one size fits all. Did you try to get organized and fail miserably at it? There are many different ways to organize. Perhaps you are a visual person and you tried to tuck everything away out of site. Everyone has there own organizing style. Don’t give up.
Being organized looks different for each individual. You may have to try something new every once in a while. Our needs are constantly changing and our rolls and lives get rearranged. Don’t get stuck on one idea or mindset that you think you should follow. Keep an open mind in order to find a system that works for you.
What is the hardest part of organizing for you? Where do you get stuck?
[photo: ripkas]
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